Warframe : Revenge
by Kalenath Shok-Tan
Summary: Some say revenge is best served cold. others say it is only good when hot. One thing is sure. When one starts down that road, nothing will ever be the same. This is a fanfiction. I own none of the rights to Warframe. Warning! This one likely will get graphic.
1. Chapter 1

**A pirate's life for me**

As the Galleon boosted back towards Saturn, Heavy Gunner 187-897734-B commonly called Bertala, was all but dancing.

She was happy. It was a good day to be Grineer. Not only had the Queens ordered her ship and its crew to clean out a nest of filthy humans, but in the process they had managed to find something that the Queens would love. An ancient cryopod holding a dormant warframe. Such a prize would more than make up for losing more than half of her clones, including her second in command.

Tenno were a massive thorn in the sides of the Queens. Oh, the propaganda said otherwise. Grineer were the strongest. Grineer rule was inevitable. Blah, blah, blah. Bertala didn't care about that. She got to hurt things. She got to hurt _lots_ of things. That was all that mattered.

Tenno upset the order of her universe. They looked flimsy and fragile, but the strongest weapons barely scratched them. She had fought a Tenno once. It...hadn't been her best day. Indeed, that day ranked fairly low on her list of 'want to be remembered'. Of the three hundred and seven Grineer posted to her Galleon, she had been one of _four_ survivors and that had been because she had been tossed off a catwalk during the fight and impaled on a strut that had been protruding from the side of the chasm. The pain had shocked her instantly unconscious and she had woken in the Reclaimers' care. _Not_ something she _ever_ wanted to do again. Grineer did not admit to fear, but somewhere deep down in the shriveled excuse for a soul she possessed, she understood fear. Tenno and Reclaimers warred for supremacy there. That rankled. A lot. Grineer were the strongest. They did not fear.

Bertala glared at the odd oblong thing that the her team had found in the ancient derelict ship and shook her head. Her squad stared at her and she snarled at them. They all found other things to do. She turned in a circle but- Wait a minute! Who was _singing_? A male voice. And... _What_ were they singing?

 _Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—_

 _Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!_

 _Drink and the devil had done for the rest_

 _Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!_

She stared around wildly, but none of her squad seemed aware of the words. Either that or they didn't want to dare her wrath by commenting. She stalked around the pod once, twice, her Gorgon up and ready for any enemy. Maybe with this prize she could get a transfer to the Nightwatch. That had to be better than shepherding the miserable excuses for clones that she had been saddled with and...

She was so worked up in her rage that she almost did not see her third in command draw his Cleavers and slice at her back. But she hadn't survived as long as she had by being weak or inattentive when there was fighting to be done. A twist and the barrel of her rifle deflected the strike, a twitch and it was aimed. He had a bare moment to see the sole eye that was not covered by her prosthesis. He opened his mouth to speak and she didn't give him time. Half a magazine was excessive even by Grineer standards, since he was in light armor. The shower of blood and other things shocked the rest of her squad who stared at her as she spun in place, eye flinty. She reloaded automatically.

"Anybody else?" She demanded of her clones, her ire up.

She did not see the shadowed form behind her who raised a non-standard Marlock and blew her brains out with a single shot.

"You move." A voice spoke in flawless Grineer as the squad tried to understand what had just happened. "You die."

The form stepped into the light and it was a Grineer. But... The armor was odd. The Marlok pistol was steady in his hand even as the other appendage appeared with... What kind of blade was that? Not a Machete. No. It looked more like a _Tenno_ blade than a Grineer one. It was long, single edged and slightly curved, almost wave like with a guard that seemed extruded from the metal. The odd Grineer nodded to the dozen clones.

"Just so you understand..." The clone commented almost idly. "What is happening is a simple transfer of ownership. You can profit by this. Or you can die." He shrugged. "Your choice."

"He killed Bertala!" One of the more intelligent trooper snarled. "Kill him!" With that, every Grineer raised weapons. "FOR THE QUEENS!"

"Okay." The stranger said with a shrug. Then he dropped to the floor and several weapons opened fire from the shadows behind him. The clones who had been aiming at him had no chance, caught out in the open.

"Boss, you got to stop doing that." A sour female voice sounded as the clone on the floor moved to the side, his pistol and sword ready. "Sooner or later, we are going to _miss_. _Then_ where will you be?"

"Probably dead. It hasn't happened yet, Sora." The clone on the floor rose as a mismatched group of clones and humans stepped into the light. He put away his weapons. A dozen strong, they carried a mix of weapons that matched their scruffy appearance. "The rest?"

"Only one squad left in the barracks." The woman who stepped forward was a Grineer clone like Bertala had been. She was nothing like the gunner though. Her attire, while survivable and armored, showed a _lot_ more skin that the Heavy Gunner had. Then again, Grineer did not feel comfortable unless they were in full armor. She wasn't Grineer anymore. Frankly? She had never been Grineer. "They are stuck. No techs with them and the doors are sealed. All the rest of the crew were hit by the gas. The ship is ours."

"Nice." The male clone stared at the cryopod and then shook his head before focusing on the others. "Let's get this tub out of the travel lanes. We need to change the transponder too."

"Boss." Sora was not having any of it. "We are on it. Cleaning, refurbishing,. Changing what needs changing. You hired us for a _reason_ , no?"

"Yeah." The male clone gave himself a shake and then took a deep breath. "I am stalling."

He turned his back on the cryopod and the group followed as he strode from the bay into a larger room. Inside the room, four unarmored Grineer knelt, binders on their hands and feet. Grineer Reclaimers, the most fanatic and insane of any clones. The boogeywomen of the Empire, they were the ones who took clone bodies and recycled them. They did not always wait until said clones were dead. Then there was their _other_ pastime.

"What are you _doing_?" The one that seemed in charge demanded as he entered the room. "You won't get away-" Her rant was cut off by the male clone's Marelok.

"I have very limited patience with your kind." The male clone wasn't angry as the body fell. Indeed, he seemed utterly emotionless. "You hurt people just to _do_ it. I have no problem with violence, directed or not as long as it has a purpose. Your purpose is causing _pain_." He took aim at the next Reclaimer, but Sora stepped forward and he paused.

"Peter, we have to give them the choice." She said softly, her face worried. "Those are the rules. We have to follow the rules."

"We all know what they will choose!" The male clone -Peter- said with a scowl.

" _Peter?_ " The Reclaimer he had been aiming at paled. "It can't be."

"Yes it _can_ , you ignorant witch!" Sora snapped. "We will offer this only the once. Forswear the Queens and join our crew. Or die."

"Never!" Two of the three Reclaimers exclaimed as one. The third, the youngest looking, stared from the Peter to Sora and back, her eyes huge.

"H-45671234098!" The eldest declared. "Don't you dare!"

"I do not know why..." The young looking Reclaimer said weakly. "But I know you. Don't I?" Sora moved to her side and pulled her to her feet effortlessly. She led the bound clone from the room.

"H-456734098!" The eldest cut off as Peter drew his sword. She was screaming obscenities when his sword fell. The other did not speak, simply stared as he turned to her. She made no noise as he ended her as well.

"Get this filth off my ship." Peter commanded. Two humans nodded and slung their weapons to start cleaning up. The others started moves to stand by the consoles and started working to get the Galleon moving.

Peter smiled slightly as the team did in minutes what might have taken a crew of Grineer hours or more to accomplish. The clones were rarely the brightest of bulbs. Then again, he had started the same place, so...

"Boss?" Peter turned to see Sora standing by the hatch. He eyed her and she nodded. "All set for the scan." Peter grimaced but nodded. There were many things he did not like about being in charge. "She thinks she knows you, but is not sure from where."

"Could be." Peter grunted as he started for the hatch. "Been in Reclaimers care more than I want to remember."

"Me too." Sora scowled. "How far down will you go?" Peter just looked at her and she slumped a bit. "I get it, Peter. We have to be just as merciless as the Grineer or we have no chance against them. But if we have to scan every single potential recruit... That will get _very_ messy."

"There are other ways to ensure compliance." Peter said quietly. Sora froze in mid-step but hurried to catch up when Peter did not stop.

"Peter..." Sora's voice was soft as he approached an armored hatch.

"She is the only one on the ship who can operate the medical gear, such as it is." Peter 's tone had frozen again. "Yes, we need her or one like her. But we also need to be able to trust her. A Grineer cannot be trusted, You know this."

"Peter..." Sora swallowed hard and then bowed her head. "I know." She reached down to rub her flesh and blood leg. "I just... It is wrong." She stilled as Peter paused and reached out to grasp her shoulder gently.

"Hold tight to that feeling." Peter said softly. "I need you to keep me from going too far, Sora. I want to see the entire system burn. I want to rend and tear and kill until what Tengus did to me is nothing but a bitter memory. But I _can't_. All I can do is go on."

"I know." Sora said weakly, undone by the simple gesture of trust and compassion. Grineer did not do such things. Then again, Sora and Peter were not Grineer anymore, were they?

"Keep me within my limits." Peter begged Sora who stared at him and then nodded. "Yes, they are more than a bit ridiculous. But I have to stay there or everything we fought so hard for will vanish. I do not want to destroy this hope before we even have it, Sora. You do not have to come in if you do not want."

"You stood with me in Rathuum." Sora said softly as she covered his hand with hers. "I stand with you. Now and always."

"Thank you."

The door opened to horror. The Reclaimer was restrained on table that her kind used for interrogations. The only thing that could move were her eyes and they were huge under the restraint that held the probes in place. Sora was thorough, she had placed the probes already. Knowing her, she had seated each properly, searing through the skull and entering the memory center with little damage to the actual brain. The other tubes had been placed as well. Stood to reason. Sora had once apprenticed to a Reclaimer, at least until the evil one had tired of her and thrown her away.

"Pieter Garga..." The Reclaimer begged. "No."

"I don't use that name anymore." Peter said softly as he moved to stand by the head of the table. "I am not Grineer anymore thanks to ones like you. But don't worry." He reassured her coldly. "I know what I am doing. You will live through this if you are honest with me."

He flipped a control and a pasty white substance started flowing through one of the tubes attached to the Reclaimer. She stiffened and...started to _cry!_ He ignored her weeping. It would turn to screams soon enough.

* * *

Later

Peter nodded to Sora as they left the room. Behind them, the whimpering was soft.

"They don't have a clue." Peter said with a nod. Sora did not react and he sighed. "Sora..."

"I don't want to enjoy that." Sora said with a snarl. "I _don't_!" Peter stopped, grabbed her and spun her to face him.

"That is the programming, Sora. Not you. You are stronger than them. Get angry, girl!" Peter's tone was sharp. Sora bowed her head only to jerk as he slapped her. "Get! Angry!"

He hit her twice more and then it happened. As always, it was as if she exploded. He retreated from her, fending off blows and kicks with practiced skill. He was counting in his mind and he reached thirty seven when she retreated a step, face still red. She slumped a bit and the rage faded as if it had never been.

"Sora?" Peter asked, hands still up to ward.

"Gah! I _hate_ that!" Sora exclaimed. "Stupid fricking Reclaimers and stupid fricking Tengus! _I want my mind back!_ " She slumped and Peter sighed as he stepped forward and pulled her close as she heaved. She did not cry. She could not. The Reclaimers had seared out her tear ducts.

"I am sorry, Sora." Peter said as he held her. "I wish I could help."

"You do." Sora took a deep breath and nodded. "I am better. That hurt, but... We can use her."

"She will need a new name." Peter said with a nod as he released Sora. "Reclaimers are just numbers. She is not one anymore." His second in command stepped away nodding.

"Yes." Sora mused. "Most Grineer do not ever get the chance to earn a name. Most die as numbers. We should give her one but we should put it to the crew if we are being proper."

"Far be it from me not to be proper." Peter grinned at Sora's expression. "The squad of clones?" She sobered.

"Not the brightest or the best of Grineer." Sora admitted. "Useful for cannon fodder or a distraction." She shook her head. "No." She said firmly. "That is Grineer think. They are loyal to the ship. We can use that. The crew likewise. _They_ are mostly hard connected to the systems anyway. With the codes we got, we have full control." She smiled and it was an evil smile. "Where to, Captain?"

"Second star to the right and straight on until morning?" Peter offered and grinned as she swatted at him. "Hey! I _tried_!"

"Peter Pan you are _not_." Sora was smiling as Peter started for the control center again. She shook her head. "What of the Tenno?"

"Leave it be." Peter replied quickly. "Tenno are far more trouble than we can handle. We have enough problems. I will try to figure out what to do with it after we get the ship squared away." They entered the bridge and nodded to the crew on duty.

"Captain on the bridge!" One of the clone crewman declared formally.

"Stow that bilgewash!" Peter declared. "We are not Navy. We work together or we die together, understand?" He looked around and everyone nodded. "I don't go for ceremonial bullcrap. I want results, not drama."

"Yes, uh..." The crewmember who had spoken looked confused. "Uh, Captain?"

"Just call him 'Boss' or his head will get even bigger than it is." Sora said with a smirk as Peter glared at her. "Hey! It's true."

"Ship status?" Pater said a bit more sharply than he intended as he strode to the huge holo display that dominated the circular room. "Zei?"

"Life support systems are at 55%." A small looking human female replied from a console that she did not even look up from. "Engines at 78%. Weapons at 89%."

"Figures." Sora said sourly. "Weapons and engines are all that Grineer care about."

"We are working on it." The engineer -Zei- said with a nod, still focused on her console. "Ship is solid, but will need a lot of work to make her what you want, Boss."

"Gogre, what smaller craft do we have?" Peter asked, moving to stand by another console. The hulking Grineer working it seemed out of place, but his fingers danced nimbly over the controls.

"Records are a mess." The voice was wrong. It was far higher than it should have been from such a huge form. But there was nothing wrong with the brain inside the body. "Systems are functioning, but I cannot tell at what level of readiness or how many we have on hand. Working on it."

"Fair enough." Peter moved to the middle of the room and nodded. "We have a lot of work to do to get this ship operational, people. But we are finally on the way. We can finally try to give the queens a proper kick in the posterior!"

A cheer went up from every throat, including Peter's. He loved his crew. They were dirty, ill disciplined and more than a bit rough around the edges. But by golly, they were all _his!_

"before we go any further..." Sora interjected when the cheer had died down a bit. "We have a new vote and one you all were thinking on. The Reclaimer isn't one anymore. We broke her bonds and she will serve us. Will you accept her?"

"You vouch for her, Sora?" Zei said, turning a horrifically scarred face to look at the clone woman who nodded. "Good enough for me." A chorus of agreement sounded and Peter smiled as Sora checked the vote and then nodded.

"Right, last piece of business. The ship needs a name, not just a number." Peter's voice was quiet, but carried easily. "This is our home. Our refuge and our weapon against the Queens. We will take the battle to them. We know their tactics and their weaknesses. We can and will take our revenge. But I guess that name wasn't popular enough?"

"Sorry. Only three votes for 'Revenge' and only you voted for 'Queen Anne's Revenge', Boss." Sora said apologetically. "The other one caught people's eye." Peter groaned but nodded. "Almost unanimous."

"All right." The Captain of the newest pirate ship in the origin system said sourly.

"The 'Jolly Roger' it is."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Who**_ **is in charge?**

Peter scrutinized the work done and nodded. The form lying on the table _had_ been a Reclaimer. No one would recognize her now for the being she had once been. Gone was the gore smeared apron that was the Reclaimer's trademark. Instead, she wore a form fitting bodysuit. If she wanted, she could add other attire over it, but the basic garment would remain. All fo the crew wore similar garments. It was a modestly armored emergency vacuum rated survival suit as well as a medical system to keep her alive. She would need it. She was showing the early stages of genetic deterioration that all Grineer did. No. He reminded himself sternly. She wasn't Grineer anymore. She was sick and would get sicker. The suit would help. So would the rest of the crew.

Sora stood near the medical equipment, a sour look on her face. But he knew she too was pleased with the result. She did not like remembering her past. It has horrific enough to give _Peter_ pause and _that_ was saying something.

"Um." The voice of the woman on the table was soft, scared. "Did I die? I feel..."

"You are going to be disoriented, Anne." Peter said as she sat up slowly. He did not offer assistance. She wouldn't appreciate it.

"Anne?" The woman asked, confused. "My identifier was... a number."

"You are not anymore." Peter said quietly. "You were vetted. You did not want to be a Reclaimer."

"No." The newly named woman said weakly. "Made me sick. They said I was weak, tried to burn it out of me."

"Compassion can be a distraction." Peter was still calm. "But it is not a weakness. Indeed, empathy can be a great strength on occasion."

"You would know." Anne said softly. Peter nodded. "I... Do I call you Captain or Peter or what?"

"You are going to call him all _kinds_ of things, _few_ of them pleasant." Sora said from where she stood. Anne looked at her and Sora shrugged. "It's true. He will work you like he works us all. Almost to _death_."

"You are really going to fight the Queens?" Anne asked, awe sounding. Peter nodded. "But not directly."

"No." Peter was brutally honest, especially with himself. "We cannot win a battle on their terms. So we fight on _ours_. What we can do is tear their society apart. Show everyone that their rule is not absolute."

"That is going to make a mess." Anne said with a grunt as she sat up. She seemed to weave a little, but sat up straight. Then she stared down at her right hand. Or... Where her right hand had been. She shook her head. "Do I get a prosthesis?"

"You are the sawbones now. You decide such." Peter said with a shrug. She stared at him and he smiled. "You are the best trained medical person on this ship. We will need you."

"I half expected to be put to the crew as a toy for what I was." Anne said slowly. She was not expecting Sora _and_ Peter to both snarl at her. "What?"

"We have few rules." Sora said with just bare a hint of fury. "Number one is we don't owe the Queens a damn thing." Peter nodded and Anne looked at him. "Number two? No member of the crew gives anything of themselves they don't want to." She looked at Peter who spoke next.

"Number three? We don't kill each other." Peter was carved from ice now and Anne stiffened. "We are not Grineer. We will _take_ from the Grineer. If two crew have a problem with each other, they come to me and I try to resolve it. If I can't, they face each other in a duel. We will have no wanton battles aboard. We are too few for such. If you want to _fight_ , no problem. You can always find a fight somewhere with us. But no killing or maiming is allowed outside of the dueling ring. Any infraction of that is a one way walk to an _airlock_. For _any_ of us."

"Even you?" Anne breathed, scared. Peter nodded. "I... I do not understand." She pleaded.

"It will take time, Anne." Peter gentled his tone. "But understand, you are not a slave anymore. You are free to do as you wish. If you wish to leave the ship, you can." Anne instantly recoiled and he held up a hand to reassure her. "Anne, no one is doing anything. We are giving you options. We need you. We need your medical training. But we are not going to _chain_ you to the wall and _make_ you heal us."

"You would if you had to." Anne said in a monotone. Peter nodded. "Why not then?"

"Because..." Sora answered as she stepped closer to the table. "We don't have to. Not now. We know you now. We know who you are and who you want to be." Anne curled up on herself and Sora laid a hand on her arm. "It's not a good thing to be suddenly adrift. You don't have any rock to cling to." Anne nodded. "So here... Cling to me. To us. The ship. The crew. We need you. You need _us_ until you get your feet under you again. Fair?"

"That is fair." Anne heaved a sigh and then nodded to Sora. Her smile was off, as if she had never used it and wasn't quite sure how to do it. "One question. Why 'Anne'?" Sora smiled wider and jerked a thumb at Peter.

"Blame _him_." Sora said sourly. "When he decided on this course of action, he did a bunch of research in odd places. He found records of all kinds of people who did what we plan to do." Anne stared at Peter who shrugged.

"Anne Bonny was a famous female pirate many years pre-Orokin." Peter allowed. "Considering what we plan to do... It seemed apt."

"You are going to take ships that the Queens control." Anne said slowly. Sora and Peter both nodded. " You are _nuts_."

"And that, my dear, is why it will work." Peter said quietly. "No one will expect it."

"Because it is _crazy!_ " Anne retorted, sitting up straighter. Sora smiled at her and stepped back. "You really expect to take Grineer ships with this one?"

"Oh, it won't be _easy_." Peter replied. "But with the right assistance, you included, we can make it work. Are you with us?" Anne looked from him to Sora and nodded silently. "Good." She did not miss the hand that stowed his Marelok back in its holster.

"You have killed me." It wasn't a question. "Even when you need me so badly?"

"Yes." Peter didn't look away as Anne stared at him. "We are all we can rely on. We may be able to find allies sometime, but for now, this ship and crew are all we can trust. Everyone here wants to be here, Anne." He held out a hand and she took it slowly. "Not everyone believes we can win, but everyone wants to _try_."

"I get that what the Queen's want is evil." Anne stood up slowly and carefully, testing her balance in the unfamiliar boots. "But this is going to take some getting used to."

"You have time, just not a lot." Peter promised her. She looked at him and he shrugged. "We are revamping the ship. Once that is done, we have a target."

"Am I allowed to know the target?" She was not expecting both Sora and Peter to laugh. "What?" Anne demanded half angrily.

"Rule Four: No secrets on the ship." Peter said quietly. "And no talking to _anyone_ off it."

"That is... impressive from a security standpoint." Anne said after a moment. "But what is to stop someone from taking a crewmember and torturing them for information?" She blanched as she realized what she had said. "Ah..."

"Almost all of the crew have gone through that." Sora reassured Anne. "We will die before letting the Grineer take us again."

"Easy to say..." Anne froze as Sora raised her overshirt. Underneath it, a vest shone on top of her bodysuit. Anne's eyes went huge as she saw the telltale signs of explosives. Wires traced down to Sora's hand and she showed Anne a dead woman's switch that was dormant at the moment. She turned to Peter who raised his shirt to show the same kind of thing. She slumped a bit. "I see."

"We both survived the Rathuum." Sora's voice was about as soft as a durasteel ingot now. "They are not taking us again."

"I see." Anne swallowed hard and then straightened. "Orders, Captain?"

"For now, focus on getting a new hand." Peter said with a nod. "See what we need in the medical bay. Assume casualties both Grineer and human. And no, _no one_ goes into the vats. Dead or otherwise. Understand?" That was an order.

"Yes, sir." Anne said with a firm nod. "I am not qualified to run them anyway. Are we going to dismantle the pods?"

"Not yet." Peter shook his head. "Still voting on what to do with them."

"Eh, _voting_?" Anne asked, confused. She jumped as a chime sounded, but Peter just sighed.

"Yeah. I am needed. She will explain." Peter nodded to Sora and left the room.

"Thanks!" Sora exclaimed at the now closed hatch. She gave herself a shake and turned to where Anne stood, looking flummoxed. "You will get used to him. He is the leader because we chose him to be. He says that if we choose otherwise, he will step down. No one has any complaints at the moment." Anne just looked at her and Sora shrugged. "Oh, people _complain_ , but no one else wants the job."

"He is the leader." Anne wasn't sure about this at all. Sora nodded. "But... _vote_?"

"Everyone aboard ship has a vote in what we do." Sora said calmly. "Everyone's vote is equal. No one has more power than anyone else. We have to persuade others to support us if things come to a vote, so many of us don't bother as long as things go well. All of us share a history of being hurt by the Grineer." Anne looked at her and Sora made a face. "I told you Peter and I faced the Rathuum."

"And survived." Anne nodded. "Impressive." Sora shrugged again. "So why not kill me?"

"Because Peter needed a dedicated medic." Sora's reply was matter of fact. "That said, we keep an eye on everyone. Don't step out of line. Punishments are chosen by vote as well and many here have history with Reclaimers."

"I understand." Anne gave herself a shake and moved to a console nearby. She started tapping keys carefully with her sole hand. "I will let you know what I find. Are you the second in command?"

"More or less." Sora's face split into a grin.

"I am trying to get them to call me 'Mate'. I won't let them call me Smee."

* * *

Nearby

Peter was smiling as he finished his round about tour of the ship. With most of the sections open, the ship was far roomier than anyone might have guessed. It also held a few surprises. The arsenal that the previous commander had collected was extensive and not just Grineer weapons. Some looked like trophies, but not all of them. Some looked as if they had been buried. Excavated maybe? Few of them would work now, but given time and some care, they could probably be made to. He had his eye on an Opticor laser cannon himself. He liked the idea of a death beam. He strode on the bridge and smiled wider when no one made any asinine remarks. He nodded to the crew and they nodded back.

"Status?" He asked Zei.

"Weapons are at 96%." The engineer replied instantly. "Engines needed an overhaul. They are at 35% but will be over 90% in an hour. Life support is maxxed at 97.8%." Peter looked at her and the human grimaced. "Not a huge priority for Grineer. I will see about getting that last pesky 2%."

"As long as we are not going to freeze, fry or suffocate, Zei, we are good." Peter smiled at her and the engineer relaxed a little. "The special project?"

"Ah yes..." Zei looked uncomfortable. "Boss, you know what we need for that. We don't have nearly the supply. This ship had two ounces. Both locked in the commander's safe." It went without saying that said safe was not proof against a determined engineer. Little _was_. "We are going to need a _lot_ more."

"Well, we knew it was going to hard to find. Until we get the ship finished up..." Peter paused. "Still on schedule?"

"Slightly ahead actually." Zei grimaced and Peter slumped. "Yeah. He works too hard. We tell him to take breaks. He won't and _no one_ is going to argue with him."

"Where is he?" Peter did not want to do this, but sometimes, rank had its burdens. Zei looked at her console and then at the captain, her eyes wary. "Zei..." Peter groaned.

"I don't want him mad at _me_." The human actually _shuddered_. "He is a good crewmate when he isn't angry."

"Yeah. He is." Peter moved to stand by the engineer and scrutinized her console himself. He saw the icon he was looking for and nodded to her. " _You_ didn't tell me." She sighed in relief and then stiffened as he smirked. "By the way... You lost your bet. She accepted the name. Anne is the new sawbones."

"Aw drat." Zei said with a scowl. "All right. I'll pay."

"You better. We are looking forward to hearing it." Peter stepped away as she swatted at him, face flaming. "Hey! We _could_ have made you pay credits!"

"I would prefer that. I _hate_ Gilbert and Sullivan. Stupid tongue torture." Zei said in a tiny voice. "You know this."

"But you are _good_ at it." Peter smirked as she swatted at him again. "Get back to work, lazybones."

"Yeah, well..." Zei shook her head. "Try not to let him tear out any bulkheads this time?"

"Way to ruin my mood, Zei." Peter complained as he started for the door. "I should teach one of you to do this." He did not miss the sudden tension in the compartment. "But no, I am not that evil."

A relieved exhalation of breath followed him out. He was not relieved. Far from it. If anything? He was terrified. He always was when doing this.

* * *

It was easy to find Gogre when he was angry. Once just had to follow the clangs. The two other crew who were assigned to this particular detail were working on something near the hatch when Peter entered the bay. Both looked wary as Peter glanced at them.

"How bad?" The captain asked.

"Only trace amounts of Oxium aboard." The female Grineer who as acting as an engineer said quickly. "We all knew it was going to be rare, but..." She shrugged as Peter made a face.

"Yeah, if we want a functional stealth system that can hide a ship this size, we need the stuff." Peter did not jump as something fell over in the distance. A shout of rage sounded and Peter sighed. "We _knew_ that. What else?"

"We don't _know!_ " The other said quickly. The human engineer had been rescued from a slave camp and sworn allegiance to the crew on the spot along with many of his contemporaries. "He snarled at us to get lost! None of us dare to ask."

"Yeah." Peter sighed and nodded. "I have this."

They stared a Peter walked into the bay, his steps unhurried. Behind him he heard the human mutter 'crazy' and the Grineer reply 'yeah'. He ignored that. He could see a swath of destruction ahead. Gogre was not subtle in any way when he got angry. Pieces of small craft lay strewn about almost at random. Peter shook his head, Tengus had so much to answer for it simply wasn't funny. Peter wasn't religious as had once been described to him, but he _did_ pray. He prayed nightly for the chance to get a hand, just a _hand_ , on the evil doc. And just for a minute! He shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Gogre! Stop breaking my ship!" Peter tried to make his voice calm, but it was hard when a form that dwarfed him stood up from the shadow where it had been pulling a piece of metal off a Dreg that was in for service. Gogre was three times his size and far stronger even without the augmentation that had been put into the giant's body. Peter had no idea what Tengus had been thinking making a berserker out of a mild mannered clone. He didn't really care. All he cared about was that Gogre didn't _want_ to be angry. He didn't have a choice anymore thanks to Tengus.

"Boss... I..." Peter stiffened. This wasn't the same as usual. Usually it took several minutes of Gogre to calm down enough to talk. If he was calm already? He had been angry for a while.

"What is wrong?" Peter stepped forward, aware that if Gogre decided to kill him, the captain had no chance. Except for two things. One, the deep seated need to obey that was buried in each and every Grineer's psyche. Two? He had Gogre's respect.

"You need to see." Gogre could be very fast for such a huge form. Peter was always taken by surprise at how quickly the hulking clone managed to move. The captain followed the engineer to another side of the bay and Peter's eyes narrowed. The swath of destruction had _started_ on this side of the huge room.

Gogre stopped in front of something that Peter couldn't quite make out. He waved to the captain and knelt, his head bowing. He took deep breaths, calming himself. Peter patted his shoulder as he came up, knowing that the worst was over. Gogre was strong, fast and brutal in his anger, but out of it? There were few kinder. He did that intentionally, to spite Tengus and the others who had made him what he was. But then Peter focused on what Gogre had led him to and the breath left his body as he saw a transparent pod marked with familiar sigils. It had either come from or was going to _Tengus' lab_. What lay within the viscous fluid was _horrifying_.

The little human girl slept.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't eat the clone**

"I can't, Boss. It is going to him." Gogre said weakly. "If we _don't_ send it, he will send people after it. But I _can't_." Peter patted his shoulder and the giant subsided.

"Com on!" Peter commanded. "Anne, we need you in small craft bay three. Bring whatever scanners you can to scan a small organic body through a transport pod."

"On my way." The medic's words were flat and clipped.

Peter nodded to no one as the connection cut out. The other two engineer had come close and both hissed as they saw the pod. Peter shook his head as they stared at him and then at Gogre. He inclined his head and both nodded in understanding. Gogre wasn't sane by anyone's standards, but no one dared to call him indecisive.

"No matter what, Gogre." Peter said quietly. "She isn't going to Tengus. No one in the crew will allow that." He didn't even need to call a vote for _that_. Most of the clones aboard had suffered at the evil doctor's hands or those of his disciples'. Many of the humans had seen the results of Tengus' 'tinkering'. Gogre was the biggest, he was not even _close_ to the worst. "Was it here?"

"It was behind some stuff." Gogre said with a nod. "Halfassed hidden. I saw it, tried to figure out what it was. When I _did_ , I went off. I... I didn't hurt anyone this time, did I?" He begged.

"We know better than to stick around when you lose it, Chief." The female engineer said mildly. "For what it is worth? I would done the same. Filthy scumsucking-" A stream of expletives came from her as she stomped off, half dragging her cohort. Peter and Gogre looked at each other and shared a grin.

"She good?" Peter asked. Gogre nodded. "You are not working them too hard, are you?"

"I make them take breaks." Gogre said quietly. "I know, I know." He said quickly as Peter opened his mouth. "But I have to work off the energy. I know it isn't good or safe, but if I sit or lie down, it gets bad. I can't keep the feelings under control when the energy gets too high. You should have killed me."

"We _had_ that discussion." Peter's voice turned flat and Gogre winced.

That had been a _hell_ of discussion and that was where the 'bulkhead torn out' comment from Zei had come from. Admittedly, it had taken _both_ of them to do it. To pull part of a wall down from a corridor. The fight had finally ended when Peter had bashed Gogre upside the head with the broken piece of wall, cracking the clone's helmet and leaving him stunned long enough to calm down. Gogre was big, fast and mean. Peter was almost as fast, far better trained and _vicious_ in fighting smart. Their fights were _legendary_.

"That we did, Boss." Gogre's eyes turned back to the pod. "I don't want to be a monster, Boss."

"Me neither, Gogre." Peter said as he sat beside the hulking form of his friend. "We will do what we have to. But for now, let's get the ship working. You brought this to my attention. We won't give her to Tengus." Gogre nodded and looked up as a voice came. Anne appeared festooned with gear and a shiny new prosthetic hand.

"Captain?" Anne asked, striding towards them. He waved to the pod and she froze, her mouth falling open. "Oh... Uh..." She looked chagrinned for a moment. "I _was_ going to say 'By the Queens', but that won't work will it?" She asked as she knelt by the pod, laying some of her gear down.

"I am partial to 'Oh Shit' myself." Gogre's tone was considering as Peter looked at him. " _This_ kind of thing? Oh yeah."

"Hang around this mountain of muscle for a while, Anne and you will learn all kind of other ways to express yourself creatively." Peter grinned at the doc's expression.

"This..." Anne was studying her scanners. "Human female. Age undetermined. Under ten years old. Well nourished." She shook her head. "En route to Tengus' lab?" She turned an irate expression at the Captain who raised a hand.

"Not happening." Peter reassured her. "But we have no facilities for a human child. Hell, I don't even know what they _eat_." He looked at Anne who looked blank. "I know they don't eat what we do."

"Good for them." Anna's mutter wasn't even close to under her breath and Gogre smiled at her. "You _do_ know what the standard rations are made of, right?" Peter and Gogre both nodded and she relaxed a bit as he scanner whirred. "She is in good health. The fluid is oxygenated so she seems to just be asleep." She shook her head. "I don't know a lot about humans, less about immature ones. The medical database is less than helpful."

"How so?" Peter asked, then clamped his mouth shut when Anne looked at him, her face bleak.

"It is describing to me in detail how much to hurt her without killing her." Anne said softly. To Peter's surprise, Gogre put a huge hand on her arm. She stared at it and then at the mountain beside the captain.

"None of us are who we were, Doc." Gogre gave her arm a very gentle squeeze. "Thanks to the captain here, we have a choice now. It's a hard road we walk. But we can walk it." He sighed deeply. "Captain... We have to ask them."

"No." Peter stood up quickly and turned away.

"So we let this little one die?" Gogre's voice was calm and kind, but somehow, rock hard as well. "They will have the information we need. They may even have the materials we need. You know this."

"It might be kinder for her to die not having woken to this existence!" Peter said sharply. He froze as Anne did. "I... No, Gogre. I can't."

"You don't have to." Gogre said quietly. "I will talk to her."

"We don't need another fight, Gogre." Peter said with a snap. "We can do it _without_ that irritatingly noble busybody!" Gogre just looked at him and Peter shook his head savagely. "No! And that is final!"

"I will call it to vote if I have to, Boss." Gogre wasn't angry, but he was firm. "Between the Orokin pod and now this? We are out of our depth. We need more information." Anne looked from on to the other and then focused on the pod.

"That woman gives me the creeps!" Peter exclaimed. "No one can be that noble!"

"Noble?" Sora's voice sounded and all three turned to see the ship's second officer enter, her face curious. "Oh. Talking about the Meridian again?" She froze on seeing the pod that Anne was still scanning. "What the-? Where did _that_ come from?"

"I do not know where this came from." Anne said after a moment. "It isn't listed in any of the medical records. Then again, it would be just like that evil witch G-66549877..." She paused and looked at the others. "The leader of the Reclaimers." She added somewhat unnecessarily. " _She_ would have done Tengus' dirty work and _laughed_ while doing it."

"Well, _she_ is no longer a problem." Sora shook her head as she approached the pod to stare at it. "Human. Hmmm."

"The _last_ thing we need on this ship is an immature human running around." Peter said quietly. The others nodded. "So..." He slumped a bit. "I don't want to talk to her."

"We can do it, Peter." Sora nodded to Gogre who nodded back. "You and she get alone like reaction fuel and fire." Anne looked at the second in command who grimaced. "Don't ask. It's fairly ugly."

"We should move the pod out of here. Out of the way." Anne said after a moment. "It is self contained. I can call for a-" She choked off as Gogre stood, picked up the pod and turned to leave the room with it. She stared after him, eyes wide. "-Lift." She concluded weakly.

"Don't bother, doc." Peter shook his head. "I bet I know where he will put it." Sora looked at the captain and nodded. "Better to keep all of our problems close to each other." Anne hissed as she realized her was talking about the slumbering Tenno!

"Close proximity to an Orokin cryopod..." Anne paused in midsentence and shook her head. "No, it won't affect anything, will it?"

"You are asking _us_?" Sora complained whimsically as Anne started picking up her gear. Sora shook her head and started to help as Peter started for the door. "We can do it, Boss."

"I am captain."Peter said with a grunt as he left the bay. "My responsibility."

"What happened between them?" Anne asked softly as she rose and started for the door herself, Sora following.

"Let's just say that they are two strong personalities." Sora looked uncomfortable. "Good news is... they won't do this face to face." Anne glanced at her and Sora grimaced. "Like I said... fuel, enclosed space and fire."

"Boom?" Anne made a face that Sora matched.

"Boom."

* * *

Ten minutes later

He really did not want to do this. But he didn't seem to have any choices. If he dithered, Gogre would put it to the vote. So, Peter made his way down to the shuttle his team had used to sneak aboard the Galleon.

It had been ridiculously easy. No one even considered the thought of attacking a Grineer ship on remotely even terms. When Corpus did such things, they threw proxies by the job lots into the fray, only following with troops after the first few waves had whittled down Grineer numbers. Tenno were masters of hit and run, there and gone before the Grineer could mete out a response. Infested were a mess, literally. They were the only foe who could meet -indeed, _surpass_!- Grineer numbers. But even then, their tactics were slow infection followed by sudden hordes from within the doomed ship. Luckily, this ship had been swept recently and no spores remained. Peter promised himself they would maintain a close watch for any sign of the disease.

So, no Grineer had thought to secure the bay against other Grineer entering via stealth. It hadn't helped that Peter had 'acquired' a couple of highly skilled computer specialists. By the time Peter himself had braced the commander of the ship, just a little too late for his agent in place, the ship's systems had been almost totally subverted.

They still were not 100% sure about the communication systems and that would take quite some time. The Queens loved to know everything that went on in their ships, so every bug and camera reported to them. The sheer amount of data coming in from every Galleon, base and outpost would swamp anyone who was looking for anomalies and Peter had instructed his team to secure the coms first. The team used their own, far more secure coms.

Which brought Peter back to the here and now.

He settled himself into the jump seat that was his in the shuttle and scowled at himself. He was putting it off. He keyed the com system live.

"Requesting connection." He said quietly. "Steel Meridian HQ."

It was fast. He gave them that. When had paid the Perrin Sequence for the best com system for its size in the solar system, he had expected substandard junk. But they hadn't shafted him. He wasn't sure why they hadn't. Did they know what he was doing? Expect it to add to their profits? He didn't know and couldn't.

"You." The expected voice was cool. He nodded as the screen came alive and she stared at him, her sole flesh and blood eye narrowing. "Eaten any good people today?" Peter ignored the dig.

"We have run into a pair of oddities."Peter said flatly. "Things that might interest you."

"What could you possibly say to interest me?" The spokeswoman for Steel Meridian demanded.

"I dunno." Peter shrugged. "Maybe an inhabited Orokin cryopod?" The other jerked and Peter nodded. "Or a little human girl in stasis being sent to Tengus?"

" _What?_ " Cressa Tal wasn't easily shocked, but he could see her discomfort. She snarled at him, it was easy to see where she came from when she was angry. "Don't you _dare_ make any jokes about lunch!"

"I haven't done that since Rathuum." Peter said softly and Cressa nodded slowly. "Despite many provocations, I haven't. And I _never_ ate _humans_."

"Yeah." Cressa Tal shook her head slowly. "You never did. Tengus huh? Shit."

"My thoughts exactly." Peter replied. "If it was just the cryopod, I would wait, but I can't have an immature human on this ship." Cressa stared at him and he shrugged."We did it. Are going to do it."

"And they call _me_ crazy." Cressa Tal said with a shudder. "Why not leave that kind of thing to the Tenno? They are better at hit and run than any of us ever _will_ be."

"You know why." Peter's voice turned flat.

"Yeah." To his surprise, she looked away from him. That was a first. "Look, Peter, I have got a lot of contacts now. We can find you help."

"Don't start, Cressa." Peter replied, his tone one short step from savage. "I am what I am. _We_ are what we are."

"We _would_ help you!" Cressa Tal begged. "If only you would let us!"

"You _can't_." Peter shook his head. "For me? Death will be a release when it comes. But we _can_ strike a blow here."

"At what _cost?_ " Cressa Tal demanded angrily. "Why can you not see what we do? You are not a monster!"

"It was a mistake sleeping with you." Peter said softly and she recoiled on the screen. "I do not regret it. It was fun. But you cannot save me, Cressa. You cannot save Sora or Gogre. The rest of us... No. We are too far gone."

" _NOT YET, DAMNIT!_ " Cressa Tal actually shouted at him and he bowed his head. "Come on, fool! I know you are stubborn, but we _can_ help! Let us!"

"You have a future, Cressa." Peter said quietly. "I don't. All I -we- have is vengeance. Against Tengus, against the Queens. We are too dangerous to have anywhere near friendlies. Cressa please, help me get the kid off the ship. The Tenno likewise."

"I..." Cressa Tal heaved a huge sigh. "Stubborn male. I will see what I can do."

The com cut out and Peter shook his head. Then he froze, he wasn't alone in the shuttle. The transparent human woman wore an odd head covering that came down to her nose, leaving her mouth free, but obscuring her features. He rose and bowed to her.

"Oracle." It wasn't normal for a Grineer or former Grineer to bow to anyone. But this was different. She did not demand his service. She offered her help unstinting. Her information had saved his life and the lives of his crew several times.

"Captain Peter." As always, her voice held a tinge of sadness. He had never seen her happy. "Beware. That human is not what she seems."

"I figured." Peter grimaced. "Anything Tengus is involved in will be messy. I know you have many rules on what you can tell me. I ask one thing, is she a threat to my crew?"

"She does not wish to be." Oracle said quietly and vanished.

Peter stood stick still for a moment, digesting that. Oracle couldn't come out and say things. He wasn't sure why, but he did know she cared a great deal. Even for those she shouldn't care about. The girl didn't want to be a monster. That meant she _was_ or _thought_ she was. He understood that line of reasoning well. He was a monster and he knew it.

"Boss!" Sora's sudden voice brought him out of his reverie. "Gogre is down!"

"What?" Peter snapped, running for the hatch "Where?"

"I found him on the bay with the cryopod. The girl's pod is here, but it is empty!" Sora sounded worried. Peter understood. Anything Tengus was involved in was going to be bad. If he had _altered_ the girl...

"Is Gogre alive?" Peter wasn't sure if he was pleading the other was or hoping he wasn't. Either way, the situation wasn't good.

"He is." Anne's voice chimed in. "Just unconscious. It looks like something _bit_ him on a weak spot of his armor."

" _Bit?_ " Peter jerked and then cursed. "Crap! Security alert! All personnel, get your weapons handy! If that girl is one of Tengus' creations, she will be incredibly dangerous! Zei, check internal scans. See if you can detect her."

"Checking." The engineer sounded calm. Then again, she was on the bridge surrounded by armed crew. If the girl could get to _her_ , they were _all_ screwed. "Got it. One anomalous heat reading! Boss! In the clone barracks!"

"What?" Peter broke into a run. He wasn't far from there. "Seal the deck!"

"Boss!" Sora protested, but he was gone.

* * *

Barracks

What met Peter's eyes as he entered the barracks was odd. Clones lay every which way but they breathed. So they were just unconscious. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. They were loyal to the ship and not the brightest of bulbs, but they were his responsibility along with the ship. Several had bite marks on what little exposed flesh was visible. A small voice was crying nearby.

Peter turned to see the little girl sitting on the deck near one wall, her face a mask of blood. She stared at him, eyes huge. Peter just shook his head.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to eat clones?" He put just the right shade of derision in his voice. "They taste _terrible_." That was experience talking.

"You are not like them." The voice from the girl was _wrong_. Not a child. "You are not afraid?" She asked. "Why?"

"Because I know what you are." Peter shook his head.

"He made you like me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Monsters**

"What do you mean?" The girl's eyes never left Peter. "I do not understand."

"What do you remember?" Peter had his hand on his sword hilt but did not draw it. "A lab? A hulking form in a blood stained shirt? Pain in your mouth?"

The girl jerked at each statement. The last had her gaping and Peter bowed his head, but did not lower his eyes. When he raised his head, he opened his mouth wide and showed her his teeth. She stared and then slowly reached up to her face, touching her own teeth. They were pointed just like his.

"This..." She was shaking now. "This isn't _right!_ "

"No." Peter took a risk and unclenched his hand from his sword hilt. He knelt down slowly, consciously placing himself on the same level as the girl to look her squarely in the eye. "It isn't. He hurt you as he hurt me. He changed you as he changed me. You are hungry and you do not know for what." His voice was soft, sad and she stared at him, confused.

"I am starving." The girl said softly. "But biting them... They taste wrong."

"Yeah." Peter heaved a sigh. "He probably intended you to eat other things than Grineer. That is what he did to me."

"Hungry." The girl's eyes narrowed. "Food!"

"Don't go there, girl." Peter warned her as he rose. "You won't like what happens."

But the hunger had taken her. He was not surprised when she charged him. He was also not surprised when she moved far more fluidly than a human child had any right to. Tengus was a complete wackjob, but he _was_ highly skilled as well. He wouldn't have made another weapon like Peter without making her as well trained as he could. Problem was... She wasn't facing a normal Grineer or even a soft hearted mountain like Gogre.

She was facing _Peter_.

She came at him and he met her halfway. He didn't draw his sword. He didn't want to kill her. But he also wasn't sure how much damage she could take. So, this would hurt. The grapple he tried was broken and he flowed into trained patterns even as the not-a-girl did the same. Block, counter, punch, kick. She tried to bite and he connected with her arm, a move that broke the frail human bone. She gave a tiny cry and retaliated, her kick slamming between his legs. He shook his head as he managed to grab hold of her as she tried to recover from the kick.

"Lost the sack in Rathuum, girl."

Peter's tone was almost kind as he slammed her face first into the floor. Once, twice. She _was_ still fighting even as he took her neck in careful jaws and bit _just_ deep enough. The toxin in his saliva acted as fast as it always did and she went limp. It didn't kill. Tengus had planned well for that. He was slightly worried about a reaction between his toxin and hers, but there didn't seem to be any changes in her blood pressure or heart rate. She was paralyzed, not dead. Tengus had wanted Peter's prey to know it when he did what he did. The taste was... He jerked back, fighting the bone _need_ to take a bite. To rend and tear the soft flesh. It took every ounce of willpower to pull back. To lay her down carefully arranging her limbs to be more comfortable and clamping his mouth shut.

"Holy!" Anne's horrified voice had Peter spinning in place, sword and pistol in hand. But she and Sora stood at the entryway. Sora was physically blocking Anne, Peter noted with approval. Anne didn't understand. Not yet.

"They... Sora! He did it to her." Peter struggled away from the girl, fighting the bone deep craving that swarmed through him. He was losing ground, but he would _not_ let Tengus win. Not now! "Don't let her loose for a _moment_! Sora. Now." He dropped his weapons as Sora raised the odd looking pistol he had given her for just such an occasion.

"Sleep, Peter." Sora said as she shot him with the Acrid.

* * *

"Oh my god." Anne swallowed hard as she stared at the two fallen combatants. "Is he dead? Is _she_?"

"No." Sora fiddled with the weapon in her had for a moment and then shot the fallen girl with it. Anne gave a cry of mixed anger and alarm but Sora was unmoved. "Tranquilizers. I don't know if anything we have on the ship can hold her. _Kill_ her sure, but frankly? I don't want to find out. She is a danger, doc. But I doubt she wants to be." She slumped a bit as she stared at Peter. "Just like him."

"What did the captain do to her?" Anne demanded, finally able to storm past Sora to kneel by the fallen girl. "He broke her arm and... Wha-?" As she turned the girl's face up she saw the marks of bruises fading on it. " _How?_ "

"I don't know." Sora moved to take Peter's fallen weapons. "You would have to ask Tengus. Peter heals far faster than anyone else I have ever seen. Amputated parts don't regenerate, but the rest? He heals." Anne made a gagging noise as Sora pulled restraints from a pouch and attached them to Peter's wrists and ankles. She moved to the girl and sighed. "He bit her. Idiot. He _knows_ better."

"Hey!" Anne protested as Sora started restraining the girl.

"She can't digest our flesh." Sora said flatly. "But that won't stop her trying. She cannot help herself, doctor. It has taken Peter years to beat the cravings into submission. This may have undone all of that." Anne stared at the other female Grineer and then at the girl.

"Are you _saying_...?" The doctor gagged.

"Yeah. He was made as a cannibal. Peter was intended as a terror weapon." Sora said sadly. "Idea was to drop him in a human settlement. In a few weeks, come back and the humans are gone. Efficient. Or so Tengus planned according to what little we have found. No nasty bioagents or rubble to clean up. No radiation. No gas."

"And?" Anne asked as she finished her scans on the girl and moved to Peter.

"And after the first bite, he refused to eat the humans they put in his cage." Sora said quietly. "To this day, I have no idea how he got the willpower to not to even take a taste. I have seen what it costs him to deny it."

"Why didn't they feed him?" Anne asked, curious despite herself. "I mean..."

"They tried." Sora might have been carved from stone now. "Didn't work. Something psychological. It has to be _him_ doing it. They cut up the ones they put in and he ignored them. He made himself puke up what they force fed him. He was useless to them. So they threw him away. Sent him to Kayla De Thaym to die in Rathuum. That didn't work so well for them." This last was dry.

"I heard...some." Anne swallowed. "He killed a dozen Executioners and a bunch of prisoners."

"Killed them and ate them." Sora replied offhand. "Yep. He has no problem _whatsoever_ eating Grineer. Especially those who attack him. But this... The addiction for human flesh is not gone. It's genetic, what Tengus did. It cannot be cured."

"So... this mission..." Anne shook her head. "None of you expect to survive it, do you?"

"Better for _all_ if we don't." Sora's voice was flat as she watched the girl. "You know that. Anne, back _away!_ " Anne stiffened and looked. The girl's eyes were open! Sora shook her head. "Sedative didn't work."

"He is like me." The girl's voice was weak, sick. It was _not_ a child's voice.

"Yeah." Sora had another pistol in hand now. A Brak hand cannon. Insanely powerful, it wouldn't just take the girl's head off. It would likely tear a _hole_ in the deck too. But for some targets there was _no_ overkill. "Older. More experienced. Stronger. But the same hunger."

"Kill me?" The girl begged. "I cannot live like this!"

"Peter has." Sora said softly. "He says it's a choice. To be a monster or not. Come on, girl. Do you _want_ to let Tengus win? He is twisted sadistic scum but he is not a god. He makes mistakes. You didn't kill Gogre. You didn't kill anyone here." The girl stared at her and Sora smiled. "You met Gogre first. His is unmistakable."

"The big one?" The girl's face turned fearful and she suddenly sounded far younger. "He was so big. So scary! I didn't mean to bite him! I _didn't_!"

"It is all right, girl." The far too high voice of Gogre preceded the giant into the room. "No harm done. To me anyway." He looked to where Peter lay and shook his head. "Idiot. He could have done it without _biting_."

"We will read him the riot act when he wakes up." Sora shrugged. "I give him ten minutes."

"You are _on_." Gogre said with a grin. "Five."

"Only for a kiss." Was Sora's instant rejoinder.

"Fine, fine." Gogre knelt down beside the still girl and took her bound hands in one of his shovel sized ones. "What is your name, girl?" She just stared at him and the huge Grineer sighed. "You have an identifier, right?"

"I hurt you." The girl was nearly in tears.

"Pain and I are old friends, girl." Gogre stroked her hands with his huge fingers, trying to calm her. "It is not your fault, what was done to you. You _can_ live with it. The boss is living proof."

"I don't wanna hurt people, but I can't stop it!" The girl pleaded. "Please..."

Gogre looked at Sora who shook her head. Anne froze as his hand flew, but it didn't strike. Instead, it touched the girl's neck, seeming gentle. Then his fingers tightened over specific places, clamping off the blood flow to her brain. She jerked once, twice and then lay still. Anne hissed, but the girl was breathing. Gogre looked at the pale doc and frowned.

"We will need to find a way to knock her out that doesn't involve me hitting her." Gogre gathered the girl up. "And we need to get out of here before the troops wake."

"Right." Anne was shaken by the sudden change between violent and kind. She bent down to pick up Peter and Sora was there to help.

The three with their burdens exited the barracks and moved through the halls of the Galleon. They made it back to Medical before Peter shifted in Anne's arms.

"Seven and a half. Pay up." Sora said with a grin. Gogre did not respond and she sighed. "Come on, big guy. Lighten up. Neither of them is dead."

"You shouldn't be touching me." Peter groaned.

"As soon as we get you and the girl to medical, we can talk." Sora promised. "But what the _hell_ possessed you to _bite_ her?"

"She is trained." Peter warned the others. "Not sure how well. If he did her the same as me, she knows how to get out of standard restraints."

"Oh?" Sora asked and hissed as he showed her his hands. The binders that had been around his wrists hung loose in his hand. "Oh."

"You shouldn't be touching me." Peter said flatly. Anne and Sora shared a look and they dropped him. "Hey!" He exclaimed as his rump hit the floor followed by the rest of him. He twisted to touch his ankles.

"It was what you wanted, Boss." Butter might not have melted in Sora's mouth as she backed away from Peter, her hand on her Acrid. He growled at her and she smiled. "Back with us?"

"Yeah." Peter stood up, the binders on his ankles falling away. He looked at the slumbering girl and shook his head. "This is not going to be good. She will be drawn to any human she sees. It's not something she is going to be able to fight."

"You are not killing her." Gogre didn't rumble in warning. His voice was too high for that. But the threat was clear.

"How many times has she begged for it so far?" Peter asked softly, his face expressionless.

"Boss." Anne shook her head as he led the way into medical. "Set her there, Gogre." Anne indicated a table nearby and Gogre did as instructed. Anne puttered about for a few minutes, setting scanners in place even as Peter looked for more restraints. She noticed him and snarled. "Hey! None of that!"

"Those binders will not hold her." Peter said flatly. "If she can touch the bindings, she can open them." The mountainous Grineer beside her shook his head and Peter frowned. "Gogre, you think I _want_ to? If she gets loose, she is a danger to every human on this _ship_." He paused and then shook his head. "No. Everyone. Just because she cannot digest us and our flesh will make her sick won't stop her when she gets hungry enough." He slumped. "It didn't stop me in Rathuum."

"I can find a way to keep her asleep." Anne promised as she started working on the girl's broken arm.

"And _then_ what?" Peter snapped. "Keep her _asleep_ until she _dies_?" He shook his head. "I know what she is feeling. I am feeling it myself right now. We cannot hold her without hurting her. We cannot cure what is wrong with her. She will starve to death slowly."

" _You_ can metabolize Grineer." Sora said from where she stood by the door, Acrid ready. "Why can't _she_?"

"Do I _look_ like a microbiologist or a geneticist?" Peter was losing his temper. "Personally? I bet Tengus learned his lesson with me and the Grustrag 3." A collective wince went around the others. Those three were infamous amongst Grineer. Another 'success' by Tengus. If 'success' was defined by 'turned them into barely functional raving psychopaths'. They had killed more Grineer than many enemies had. "Make something that can target Grineer and it _will_. It is what I did in Rathuum."

"Yeah." Sora shook her head. "Boss..."

"Sora, I am hanging onto my sanity by my _fingernails_. Don't lower your weapon." This was a command and Sora jerked upright. "I don't want to kill her, but that may be our best choice. We have enough problems as it is."

"Boss, we are lost." Gogre said sadly as he patted the girl's still arm. Anne had finished with the other. "Is she?"

"You are going to insist." Peter groaned. Gogre nodded."Fine, fine. We put it to the vote. But she does _not_ get loose. Zei and every other human on the ship will be vulnerable if she does. And just because she cannot _eat_ our flesh doesn't mean she cannot _kill_ us."

"We can collar her with one of the slave collars. That would track her and let us restrain her from a distance." Anne offered only to wilt as all three of the others glared at her. "Hey, it is only a suggestion!"

"Don't even _mention_ that around Zei." Peter said flatly. "She lost her son to Grineer slavers. Others have worn such collars. Just...don't." He shook his head. An awkward silence fell.

"Does she get a vote?"Gogre asked suddenly. "She wants to die, but if there are _any_ alternatives, would she get a vote?"

"There has to be something." Anne frowned. "Even my less than distinguished predecessor was not completely clueless. There has to be _some_ kind of record." She moved to the closest console and started tapping keys.

"This has put us behind schedule." Gogre said flatly. "We need to catch up."

"Here." Anne tossed a vial to the giant who caught it reflexively. "That is an energy dampener. The self applicator will work right through your suit. Sora explained so I looked for something that would help. You will acclimatize to it, so it won't last forever. But it should let you sleep without getting angry and waking up in a rage."

"Thanks doc." Gogre smiled at Anne who returned it before turning back to her console. "Boss? I need to finish my shift."

"Yeah." Peter did not take his eyes from the slumbering girl and Gogre heaved a sigh.

"Did you have to bite her, Boss?" The huge Grineer's tone was odd. Half kind, half accusing.

"I did." Peter wasn't looking at the girl now. He was staring off into space. "I didn't want to kill her. I _don't_ want to kill her. No!" He growled at something no one else could see. "I won't! I _won't!_ "

He turned and quickly strode from the room. The others stared at each other and then shared a shrug.

"I will stay." Sora offered as Gogre looked torn. "Go on, they need you more than me right now." She gave a squeak as Gogre moved to her side and lifted her into the air, spinning her around once before setting her back on her feet. She swatted at him, but he dodged and bent close to kiss her cheek. "Gogre!"

"Don't ever change, Sora." Gogre smiled as he stepped back. "That was the bet, right? A kiss?"

"I never said _what_ you had to kiss!" But Sora was grinning. Anne was quivering where she stood, fighting laughter as Gogre bowed to them both in an oddly formal style before vanishing out the door as only the insanely fast mountain of muscle could. "Anne?"

"Yes, Sora?" The doc didn't look up.

"I might be able to help." Anne stiffened at the pain in Sora's tone. "I don't want to step on your toes, but... I did... Um..." Anne turned slowly to stare at Sora who flushed. "I... I was a Reclaimer. Before."

"Before Rathuum." Anne's face was study. "Why are _you_ not the medic?"

"Because I am a failed experiment too."


	5. Chapter 5

**Politics**

"Eh..." Anne stiffened as the girl on the table let out a moan. "Um..."

"I have this." Sora slumped a bit and then her posture changed. She strode to the table and her hand came down to stroke the girl's head. "Easy, girl. Easy."

Anne stared. This wasn't the pirate she knew. This woman sounded calmer, sadder. As if she knew exactly what was happening and why and felt compelled to help any way she could. Anne's eyes went huge as Sora spread something over the girl's upper face. A _blindfold_?

"Hurts." The girl pleaded. "So hungry it hurts."

"I know." Sora's voice was breaking as he hand stroked the girl's hair. "We will try to help. Doc? See what you can do to dampen section three alpha of her brain gently." Anne's mouth dropped open but when Sora glared at her, she complied, seeking through her equipment for such a remedy. "We won't be able to stop it, girl. We may be able to curb it a bit." The girl lunged up, trying to catch Sora's hand in her teeth and Sora made a clucking noise. "Now now, don't be like that, girl. We are trying to help."

"So... hungry..." The girl pleaded. "Kill me! I can't live like this!"

Anne found what she was looking for and moved to the table. A quick glance at Sora had the medic pausing. The other female looked devastated. When Sora spoke, it was sad, but firm.

"Not until we have tried everything we can, honey." Sora said quietly. "You need help. We are going to try and give it to you. It may hurt. It may not. But we won't stop trying while there is hope."

This was not the pragmatic warrior Anne had met. No. This woman was all but sobbing in her need to console the crying girl. She waved emphatically to Anne who nodded and moved to the head of the table.

" _What_ hope?"The girl demanded. Then she hissed as Anne played energy over her head. She jerked once and then relaxed. "I... The hunger... It is gone?" Desperate hope sounded in her voice.

"No. Suppressed for a bit and you will acclimatize. The method won't last and it will become less effective over time." Sora stroked the girl's hair as the young looking human started to cry again. "It is all right, honey. You are not alone. We will do what we can for you. Maybe we cannot help you, but I for one want to _try_."

"Why?" The girl said through her sobs as Sora stroked her hair. "I am a monster!"

"So am I." Sora said sadly. The girl turned her covered eyes to Sora and Sora sighed. "I cannot cry. They made me want to help people and then hurt them once I gained their trust. But I am a failure to the ones who made me. Because of what they did and how, I don't _like_ hurting people. I like _helping_ them. But the need to hurt them too is deep inside me. It is never going away. So... I do what I can." Her stroking and her calm words were having the desired effect. The girl relaxed.

"So you need to help me and hurt me." The girl mused.

"Yes." Sora agreed. "I deny the hurting and it makes me sick inside. Inside my head. But I won't let him win. I won't let Tengus win." Anne came close, a hypo now in hand and Sora moved aside so the doc could inject the girl's neck. The girl heaved a sigh and then fell asleep. Sora put a finger to her lips when Anne would have spoken. She held out a hand to the doc and Anne handed her the hypo, mystified. Anne's eyes went huge as Sora tripled the dose and injected the girl again. The girl jerked but subsided. "She was faking being asleep to try and get away."

"And if she got loose..." Anne swallowed hard.

"Peter would kill her and Gogre would be angry." Sora shook her head as she tossed the hypo back to Anne. "Bad. So. No. Not happening on my watch."

"They made you to break peoples' wills." Anne said softly. Sora nodded. "I am sorry."

"Yeah, well..." Sora smoothed the girl's hair one final time and stepped back to the wall near the door. "We all have our darkness, doc. Mine just cloaks itself in kindness more than most."

"Is it a cloak or reality? You do not want to hurt people." Anne protested. Sora just looked at her. "Do you?"

"I was a Reclaimer, doc." Sora replied evenly. "And I was happy _being_ a Reclaimer. If Tengus and the others had asked me, I probably would have volunteered for such on the off chance I would be able to hurt people more efficiently. They didn't ask me." She looked away for a moment. "I still need to hurt people, but I can rationalize it, use the feelings to fight. To help the crew."

"Reclaimers don't get trained to fight." Anne said softly and then stiffened. "Rathuum."

"Yeah." Sora's voice was almost inaudible. "I was an embarrassment to the Reclaimers. Instead of simply standing me up against the wall and shooting me or torturing me to death, they sent me to that sadistic piece of crap De Thayam." She shook her head and her tone turned vindictive. "There is a special place in hell reserved for that one and her cronies. On the upside, I met Peter and Gogre there and the rest as they say is history."

"That must be a hell of a story." Anne mused as she checked the girl's vitals. She sighed. "We have stasis pods. Should we put her in one?"

"She should be out of a few hours. We will put it to the vote shortly." Sora paused as the com chimed and Peter's voice sounded.

"Crew, we have a situation." The captain said without preamble. "Most of you will have heard about the human girl we have found by now. She isn't a human anymore. She is not Grineer either. Tengus turned her into a weapon like me. That makes her incredibly dangerous, mainly to humans. That said, she is also alone. She and I are the only ones of our kind that I know of in existence. Tengus may have made others, he is crazy like that. Gogre has asked me to call a vote to see if the crew is willing to let her stay." An indrawn breath was audible over the com. "For the record, I do not want her to stay. She is asking -begging!- for death. She is a weapon of terror. Made to eat human flesh. Nothing else will sustain her for long. Just like me. She looks less dangerous but that is an illusion. When we set up the rules, I said I would abide by whatever the crew decides. So, I will despite it being my judgment that she will not be able to control herself. I vote that we end her in her sleep, mercifully and completely."

"Looking less menacing than a Grineer makes her _more_ dangerous." Sora said into the silence that followed the captain's words. Anne jerked as she realized the second in command's words were being transmitted somehow. She wasn't wearing a com, was she? "But she doesn't _want_ to be a monster. I have to abstain. I want her to live and die equally."

"The captain and second speak truth." Gogre's high voice sounded now. "The girl _is_ a danger. She dropped me with one bite. But she doesn't want to be bad. She may say she wants to die, but she doesn't. She is scared and alone. We _all_ know that feeling." A sigh sounded from the engineer. "Can we restrain her? She is human, not Grineer. I don't like that idea, but I like the idea of _killing_ her in her sleep _less_."

"You have heard our arguments." Peter sounded calm. "We will abide by the crew's wishes in this. Vote as you are able. Voting closes in an hour." The com clicked off.

"An hour?" Anne asked, confused.

"Some people are working EVA and won't have access to internal coms. They need to be told." Sora shrugged. "Others are asleep. They will be woken for the vote. Everyone will vote for this. They did to add me." Anne stiffened again and Sora nodded. "And you."

"I see." Anne shook her head. "I will check the stasis systems and..." She slumped a bit. "The toxins." Sora nodded but did not take her eyes from the slumbering girl.

* * *

An hour later

"79% to keep her alive and give her a chance." Peter's resigned voice said an hour later."I do not agree, but the crew has spoken. We will need to take serious precautions. We cannot let her loose around _any_ of our human crew. She will not be able to control herself. Anne? What are the options?"

"With euthanasia ruled out..." Anne had voted for that herself. Not because she wanted to be cruel, but because she felt it was far more cruel to keep the girl alive and suffering. "We have two. Permanent restraints or cryostasis. Both have downsides. cryostasis simply postpones the question. The restraints that we have... will anger some of the crew. They are Grineer designs, sturdy and effective but hardly comfortable."

"Drugs can do nothing?" This from another member of the crew, a male.

"They do not last and she acclimatizes to them." Anne was tired, but she still managed to speak before anyone else could." I have had to use quadruple doses of three different sedatives to keep her asleep for an hour." That would have killed any human. The girl wasn't one anymore. "I am doing what scans we can but this ship wasn't set up for research. I vote cryostasis."

"Doc, if it is a medical question, you are the authority." Peter quelled any comments. "I know that being in restraints for long periods would hurt her." That was experience talking. "And she cannot feed on what she needs. We cannot allow it."

"Why not?" Another voice Anne didn't know. A female. She wasn't happy.

"Because she won't be able to stop, Zei." Peter said flatly. "She wouldn't be able to take just one bite or two. Every one of you has been hungry so you understand a bit. If she gets a bite on a human, she will feed. Only death will stop her in that case."

"And how do you know this?" Anne asked over the com.

"Because I wasn't the only one Tengus made. I was the only one who _survived_." Peter's tone discouraged any further questioning about that. "So, another vote. Cryostasis or restraints?"

"Cryostasis is kinder." Sora said sadly. "I don't want it to be, but it is."

"What kind of a life is that?" Gogre demanded over the com. "Yes, it is safer for us. Who amongst us desires _safe_?" He chuckled without mirth. "If I wanted to be safe, I wouldn't be _here._ "

"Restraints." Zei's voice was calmer than it had been. "If she truly wants an end, she deserves the chance to get one and maybe the ability to hurt those who hurt her. Yes, it bothers me..." She interjected when others started talking and they shut up. "It will. But she is not a slave. _Is she?_ " That was a challenge.

"Not a chance." Peter snapped. "We are not Grineer. We do not believe ourselves superior simply because of how we were created. Zei, seeing her in a collar will hurt you."

"Pain is a good thing, boss." Zei retorted. "Shows you that you are still alive. And, Anne... if she needs the nutrients in human flesh, have you considered milk?" There was sudden and absolute silence over the com.

"Milk?" Anne finally said when the silence dragged on painfully. "What is milk?"

"What?" Zei sounded stunned. "You don't know what _milk_ is? Oh, yeah. You are a clone. Um... It's nourishment."

"Zei, we are all clones." Peter sounded odd. Confused? Worried? Disgusted? "You know what we eat."

"Yeah, I do." Zei sounded sick now and Anne could relate. Grineer rations were not for the faint of heart. Then again, it was commonly know that they were made from the same constituents that Grineer were made from. So, every Grineer was technically a cannibal. Sort of.

"Milk? Milk. Milk." Anne mused as she searched her database. Then she stiffened as a definition appeared on her screen. "You _have to be_ **_shitting_** me! Human _eat_ that? That is _disgusting!_ " For a former _Reclaimer_ to say _that_...

"Humans have eaten some very strange things over the centuries." Zei replied, a strange bubble of humor in her tone. "But yes. It is a staple for the young of most mammal species, including humans. I uh... I fed my son that way. It was... I..." She broke off.

"Zei, it is okay." Anne said quickly. "I don't know if this will work." She was keying a set of searches in as she spoke. "It _is_ human. But... I don't know. I might need to ask some hard questions, Zei."

"I need time." Zei sounded strained and Sora glanced at the doc apprehensively.

"I understand." Anne was quick to reassure the other. "I can keep the girl asleep for a few more hours with what I have in stock, but then we need to choose. On that note, if she is staying, she needs a name."

"Zei? Your choice." Peter said flatly. No one dared to question that.

"What was the name of that girl in the third pirate move you showed us?" Zei asked, somewhere between laughter and tears. "The one with the undead pirates sailing a ship and walking underwater?"

"Elizabeth Swan from 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?" Peter replied quickly. Anne stared at the com and then at Sora who was grinning. "That is a long name for a small human."

"So, call her Swan." Zei replied. "I can be down to medical after my shift, doc. We can talk then."

"Not alone." Peter warned.

"Peter, hush." Zei said with a lilt that hadn't been there a moment before. "Don't we have a target?"

"Eh, yeah." Peter grunted, obviously upset but not willing to push it further. "A Galleon carrying Oxium is passing our position close enough for a strike. I was going to call a vote..."A cheer sounded over the com and his voice turned resigned. "No point now I guess. This won't be easy, but with Gogre working like the madman he is and the clones of the crew we have a decent chance. Point is, we are not there to fight or kill. We are going for the Oxium and nothing else. So, we get in and then we get out. Hopefully before they even know we are there. We don't want to get into a stand up fight with a full crew Galleon. We will lose if that happens. So we are going to do our best to see that we don't."

"What do you need from me?" Anne asked. "I mean, I have worked during battles, but only doing my previous job and that is not happening again."

"No." Peter agreed. "Get the bay set up for casualties. If wounded personnel come in, tend them as best you can." The he paused. "Make absolutely sure the girl won't wake up or get loose. There may be lots of blood and other things around at that will excite her."

"Right." Anne started configuring the consoles even as the com clicked off. "Sora? What... What do I do if I can't save someone?"

"If you deem that the wounds can be helped with more advanced medicine than we have available on ship, put the person in stasis and we will get them to that care." Sora answered immediately. "If not? Call me or Peter." Anne stiffened. There was only one reason the captain or the second officer would come for such a thing. To end a life.

"Sora, I can do it." Anne said quietly. "I have done it before."

"You haven't done it for us yet." Sora replied. "No offense, but we are a tight knit group. We had to be, to survive the Rathuum. If this goes bad..." She paused and made a face as Anne looked at her. "Ah, who am I kidding? It will go bad. It always does."

"Mostly in my experience too." Anne kept her voice calm even as Sora looked downcast. "If that is what you want, I will call you or Peter. Or... if _both_ of you..."She trailed off as Sora looked at her.

"If it gets that bad, then nothing you do will make anything _worse_." Sora said with a strained grin. "Thank you for the thought." She paused as a console chimed for Anne's attention. "Doc?" She asked when Anne hissed.

"You had people sending medical information to me." Anne's words were not a question so Sora waited. "Yours included."

"Makes sense for the doc to have our medical information, no?" Sora quipped only to freeze as Anne spun to stare at her. "What?"

"You are Grineer." Anne sounded as if she couldn't believe what she was saying. Sora shook her head slowly, confusion surging to the fore.

"Yes." Sora drawled the one syllable out to several. "And?"

"She is human." Anne turned to stare at the sleeping girl on the table. "Completely except for what Tengus did and that didn't fuddle her basic DNA or it would have killed her."

"You are the doc." Sora said with a snort that trailed off as Anne lowered a scanner over the girl and started doing detailed scans. "Doc? What are you doing?"

"This makes no sense at all." Anne shook her head. Sora growled at her and Anne jerked. "Sorry. Look. You better see this." She indicated the console nearby and Sora moved to look at it. For a moment, the readouts were complete gibberish and then they made sense and Sora recoiled as she saw two nearly identical readings for DNA. _Hers_ and the _girl's_.

"That is not _possible!_ " Sora said softly. "I am _Grineer_."

"And she is _not_." Anne agreed.

"But you _are_ related."


	6. Chapter 6

**Space Pirates**

"This is really, really weird and coming from me, _that_ is saying something."

It had been said that in space no one could hear you scream. That was true, since space was a vacuum and sound waves did not travel through it. Space was big had also been said. Empty too. But the human form in the black flightsuit just shook his head as he stared out the canopy at the huge Grineer ship in the near distance. He and his partner had been watching the Galleon, not sure what they had been watching it _for_. A lot of their jobs, the odd pair hadn't had any clue what was actually going on beyond what they had been asked to do. That wasn't in and of itself strange in any way. But the _jobs_... Sneaking into a Corpus controlled landing area to plant information on ship movements. Planting a beacon in the middle of a spaceborne hive of Infested without a single mutalist the wiser. Going to the Moon... If Mitchell _never_ got within scanning range of a swarm of Sentient fighters again it would be too soon. It had taken the Caretakers a week to repair the damage they had taken and all they had done was _flee_. At least the protections had held and the pair remained free but it was not something _either_ of them _**ever**_ wanted to do again.

"It is no odder than anything _else_ Oracle has asked us to do." The voice of his partner was calm and unhurried as always. There was something subtly different about it now however. Mitchell wasn't sure what it was, but NightNova seemed more alive than the ship had been prior to being infected with the Technocyte virus. "And no one is shooting at us."

"The day is young." Mitchell replied sourly. "Thank you for jinxing it."

"You are determined to be irrational in your limited human way." The ship replied with aplomb. "You cannot help the belief in some all powerful force controlling the universe simply for its own need to be perverse no matter how it is shown to you that random chance is just that, random."

"Karma is a bitch." Mitchell shrugged in his restraints. "Anyone who has ever been in combat will say the same."

" _I_ have been in combat and _I_ don't say that." NightNova replied with a hint of asperity.

"Well, _you_ are crazy and I am mind linked to you, so _I_ must be too." Mitchell's grin vanished as something changed in the near distance. "Aspect change! What? Wait a sec. What the hell?"

Several small craft had exited the Galleon. Not that surprising. Lots of small craft had come and gone since NightNova had assume position. But what these were doing was not the typical work on the outer hull of the Galleon and the occasional Combat Space Patrol or CSP.

"They launched a shuttle that is positive for twenty life forms. All clones." NightNova sounded just as mystified. "But they _also_ launched a spread of boarding pods that have mixed in with half a dozen Darygns that seem to be escort for the shuttle. They are proceeding away from the Galleon at the shuttle's rated non-emergency speed."

"Why would Grineer _bother_ to hide an assault force?" Mitchell asked aloud of both of them. "Where are they going?" He didn't need to look at the sensor systems. The readouts shone directly into his mind and he interpreted them with the skill of long practice. "They are on course to intercept Galleon 22-g-12." Mitchell shook his head. "They do not do that unless they are ordered. You didn't pick up any orders to this Galleon, did you?"

"No." NightNova sounded concerned. "Mitchell, this looks like a disguised assault."

"No matter _how_ many clones they have in those pods, the twenty clones in the shuttle won't last long against the crew of that Galleon if it is an attack. Add to that, the other Galleon has CSP up... but the fighters are not intercepting." He shook his head. "Filthy clones. Just as bad as the Seps, if not worse."

"Mitchell..." But NightNova did not try hard.

Mitchell was one of _three_ survivors of a war from antiquity. A regime of nutcases had broken away from Orokin and founded their own little pocket dynasty. No problem, except they had decided that no one else mattered. They had formed a huge military of clones and launched devastating attacks on military and civilian targets indiscriminately. _Big_ problem. Mitchell's fighter squadron had been at the forefront of the war and his memories of the atrocities were still sharp and fresh. He understood his hatred and the Caretakers were helping both him and his wife (another survivor) to cope with the sudden changes in their lives. He was. Mostly. But clones of any kind tended to push his buttons.

"I know." Mitchell said softly. "Check for transmissions of any kind. This has to be some kind... of..." He trailed off as NightNova's powerful sensors picked up something that he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.

Singing.

And _what_ they were singing...

 _Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul  
Yo ho, heave ho  
There are men whose hearts as black as coal  
Yo ho, heave ho_

 _And they sailed their ship 'cross the ocean blue_  
 _A bloodthirsty captain and a cutthroat crew._  
 _It's as dark a tale as was ever told_  
 _Of the lust for treasure and the love of gold..._

It was low power, but it had to be coming from close by. _Very_ close by. From the Galleon that NightNova was shadowing! The pilot stared as the ships in the distance vanished into the other Galleon. There was simply no way that anyone further away from the ship would pick that up signal at that strength.

"What... the... _hell_?" Mitchell managed to sputter as NightNova matched his incredulity with a mental sputter. All they could do was listen as the music continued. "Where is that coming from?"

"That is bleed through from internal com systems." NightNova sounded apprehensive now. "It must be playing through the ship for the bleed through the hull to be detectable at this range. No one further away could hope to pick it up." They listened, dumbfounded as the song continued.

 _... Shiver my timbers, shiver my sails  
Dead men tell no **tales**!_

Both screamed as pain exploded across their mental link. Both recoiled, NightNova erecting defenses instantly and Mitchell readying every weapon system they had. The pain faded. Nothing else happened.

 _That was not directed at us, was it?_ Mitchell's mental voice was hushed even though there was zero chance of anyone detecting the communication.

"No." NightNova's reply was audible even as the machine intelligence worked to soothe it's partner's jangling nerves. "It was not. The Galleon just started jamming on all spectrums. At this range, it hurt like hell."

"No joke." Mitchell winced in memory. "But...why? They cannot know _we_ are here."

"Not _us_." NightNova replied uneasily as flashes started in the distance. "The Darygns just attacked the other Galleon's CSP. Surprise was complete, the Combat Space Patrol do not have a chance. Half of them died in the first volley. The other Galleon has taken a great deal of damage to its communication and sensor arrays."

"The ships that flew away. This Galleon blinded the other one other and the ships attacked without warning." Mitchell shook his head slowly as far as he could in his seat. "Masterful tactics, but... why?" They watched as the boarding pods slammed into the other Galleon. The shuttle entered a yawning bay and vanished. The Darygns continued to swarm, some targeting the few remaining defending fighters, other shooting at points on the besieged Galleon. "This Galleon isn't at full strength from the scans. They cannot win!"

"A _battle_ , no." NightNova sounded subdued now and Mitchell's eyes narrowed. "I _don't_ think that is the plan."

"What makes you say that?" Mitchell demanded as the Galleon that they were shadowing started moving towards the other.

"I have identified the music." NightNova replied. "It is ancient, predating even your tenure in the Orokin Navy. Predating Orokin _itself_ according to some records." Mitchell's eyes went huge at that. Old indeed. "If that music is to be believed, they are _not_ soldiers."

"Then _what_ are they?" Mitchell demanded.

"Pirates."

* * *

The Galleon

It was so stupidly simple.

No one in Grineer society had ever imagined such a thing happening. Attacks, sure. Many groups attacked Grineer ships. Tenno were the most rapid and overwhelming, striking with all of the speed and fury of the ancient warriors, devastating entire crews before vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. Infested came from other ships, spreading like the virus that they were. Messy, but fairly predictable in their savagery. Corpus could be either fast and messy or slow and sneaky, but again, they were known quantities. No one in Grineer society had ever imagined something like _this_!

Peter grinned as Gogre finished his work at the console and turned back to the team. The Engineer wore his once customary Bombard armor and carried an Ogris, but if this went as planned, no one would have to fire a shot. Peter jerked his head at the hatch and the twenty strong team of armored forms followed him. Peter looked at question at the Bombard who held up a hand and flexed his fingers twice. Ten minutes. They had at best ten minutes before the ship's crew realized that the jamming outside had been augmented by a very special program _inside_.

Peter had to grin as music sounded over every speaker. Loud music. He loved the theme from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and for a bit, that would be _all_ that would sound from the internal com systems. He wiped it from his face as the hatch opened and he strode into chaos. The crew of the Galleon had no idea what was going on. Grineer were bred for battle and the ship had rocked as if under attack, but no attack had materialized. He took a hand from his Grakata and waved first to one side and then the other. He much preferred other weapons, but his normal ones would have been an instant giveaway that something was different. Any deviation from normal Grineer would be noticed, commented on and investigated. Especially with the ship at battle stations. They had planned for this however. His people split up, each had specific goals.

He strode through the halls, Gogre and two others at his back. Eight of his people had gone with each other team. He trusted all of them with his life, but he also was worried. There was exactly _zero_ margin for error here. His twenty were outnumbered at least ten to one on this ship. The boarding pods were distractions, empty. If it came to a fight, his people would, he had no doubt. But if so, they would die. He refused to let that happen.

His grimace as he led the way through the ship cleared most of the clones from his path. Only once did he have to step aside for an angry Heavy Gunner. All others made way for him.

There it was! He led the way into the antechamber and nodded to Gogre who stepped to the console set in the middle of the room and started clicking keys. They didn't have the proper console unlocking codes. It didn't matter to Gogre. He was a whiz with any kind of tech, but Grineer tech almost literally would lie down and roll over when he asked it to.

Peter jerked as the console clicked. Gogre nodded as he stepped to the door ahead which opened obligingly. The yellow bar of a scanner swept over Gogre and Peter tensed, but it continued as Gogre stepped forward through the energy field. Peter and his team followed the Bombard into the high security area. A Regulator paused in its endless circuit to scan each of them, but apparently found nothing out of the ordinary. Peter hid another smile. Gogre had convinced the ship's automated systems that the teams were not only authorized, but completely cleared for every area of the ship. The team worked its way around the secured areas, wary for live guards. Those couldn't be spoofed as easily as the automated ones. Gogre held up a hand as he approached a corner ahead. Peter stiffened as a red icon appeared on his Head's Up Display. A live guard.

Peter eased his way closer to the corner and past the mountainous Bombard. He took in the situation at a glance. The guard was looking way from the team. No. He wasn't. He wasn't looking at _anything_! Peter strode to the guard despite Gogre's warning hiss. The guard did not react as Peter strode toward him. Yes, him. A Trooper, low rank.

"Grineer!" Peter growled and the guard jerked upright and spun to stare at Peter whose eyes narrowed. The guard's eyes were wrong. His pupils were widely dilated. He was on some kind of drug. The guard went still as Peter shook his head. "Disgusting!"

"Sir!" The guard started to speak.

"Shut up." Peter snarled and the guard did. Peter shook his head and growled a vile epithet. "Be _very_ glad we are at battle stations and you _are_ at your post or I _would_ shoot you. If we were not at battle stations, I _would_ send you to _reconditioning_." Peter did not raise his voice but the Trooper blanched.

"Sir! I..." The Trooper tried to gather his thoughts but Peter did not let him.

"You are a _disgrace!_ To _all_ Grineer! To the _Queens_!" The Trooper bristled, but froze as Peter raised his Grakata.

"Sir!" The Trooper braced to attention. "I am supposed to be on duty for nine hours! I cannot remain awake that long!" A sound suspiciously like an evil chuckle came as Gogre moved to the door of the vault, blocking the Trooper's view of what he was doing even if he dared look away from Peter. That... would not be wise. "What are you _doing_?" The Trooper demanded, only to freeze again as Peter's Grakata aimed between his eyes.

" _We_ are verifying that the vault has not been tampered with while _you_ were standing here _stoned!_ " Peter growled and the guard blanched. "Better _pray_ it is not or _you_ will explain to the Captain _why_. She _might_ only flay you. I would want to _watch_." Two of the others stepped to the Trooper's side and took his weapon from unresisting hands.

Gogre was fast. In moments, he stepped out of the vault and shook his head. "No sign of tampering, sir." There _wouldn't_ be if he knew Gogre.

"Be _very_ glad internal coms are down." Peter growled again as the Trooper sagged in relief. "Or I _would_ be reporting you as incompetent this _very_ moment." He shook his head. "Give him back his weapon." The one who held the Trooper's Sobek pushed it into his slack hands.

"Sir?" The Trooper managed as Gogre stepped towards the corner.

"My duty is to check the integrity of the vaults, not to try to keep weak willed _bases_ from making fools of themselves! As soon as internal coms are back up, I _will_ be reporting you." Peter snapped.

"I am no base!" The Trooper snapped right back.

"If you need _drugs_ to do your duty, then you are no _better_ than a base." The contempt in Peter's voice could have cut through steel. "Weak and soft."

"I will show you _weak!_ " If the clone had sent Peter an email the week _before_ , he couldn't have telegraphed his intentions better as he tried to drop his Sobek into firing position. Peter did not bother to fire. Well, that also might set off internal sensors. So, he just slammed the stock of his Grakata into the Trooper's helmet. He did not pull his strike and the Trooper fell to the floor, blood flowing from his nose as the shogun clattered to the deck.

"Well, you are certainly no _Grineer_." Peter said with a shrug as he turned and walked away. "I will be reporting you as soon as the coms go live." He didn't turn as the shotgun roared. The others looked at him and Peter shrugged. He didn't need to look back to know that the Trooper had shot himself. A _far_ more merciful fate than the one that had awaited him if Peter _had_ told the Captain of the Galleon that one of his troopers was using drugs on duty. "You get it?"

"Shifted and covered." Gogre sounded offended and Peter looked at him. "Drugs. I hate drugs."

"A stupid enemy is a gift from the gods." Peter shrugged. "It could have been a Nightwatch Heavy Gunner or _worse_."

"You just about gave me a heart attack, Boss." Gogre complained softly as they made their way back toward the hangar bay. The other teams joined up as they approached the hatch and both team leads nodded. Peter allowed himself a small smile. "Too brazen for your own good."

Peter froze as the hatch ahead opened far too soon. The hangar was _packed_ with Grineer troops. In front of them, a familiar form stood. A Grineer, but not a common one. This one was bisected by a golden field of energy. Vor was haranguing his men. He did not even look up as Peter and his team joined the throng.

"Whoever is attacking this ship will pay!" Vor snapped. "The renegade fighters have been driven off and we will find the traitors! We will bring them to justice and make them pay for their crimes against the queens! To your ships! Find the source of the jamming and destroy it!"

Peter and his people ran for their shuttle. They were not alone in that. Other teams of Grineer were also boarding shuttles. But then, Vor spun to stare at the retreating team.

"You!" Peter made a motion and his teams stopped in place even as other Grineer entered their ships and left the bay. Vor was staring at Peter. "I do not know you. What unit are you?"

This hadn't been covered. Nothing that Peter's team had would hurt the undead Captain. Peter nodded to Vor and held up a hand. In it a Nightwatch sigil gleamed. Vor grunted. He waved Peter's team on and they entered the shuttle.

"Get us _out_ of here." Peter commanded as he threw himself into the co-pilot's seat. "They will figure out what we took sooner rather than later. Did we get it all?"

"Oh, ye of little faith." The human pilot smirked at Peter as she indicated a screen nearby. On it, a pile of boxes shone in the shuttle's tiny cargo hold. A huge pile of Oxium that the teams had directed the Grineer machinery to move from the Galleon's cargo hold into their shuttle. The commands from the vaults had gone through swiftly and cleanly. "Didn't think you would get it rerouted so fast. Nearly pissed myself when the troops showed up. Figured hiding was better than dying."

"Now, all we have to do is get away. Ah, figures." Peter sighed as he saw the Galleon's engines come alight. It was turning toward them and all of the fighters in the area were turning after them as well. "Local jamming just went down. I think our secret is out."

"Thieves! Surrender!"

Peter just looked at the pilot who shrugged and hit maximum acceleration.

"Yo ho!"

* * *

 **((Song was Theme from 'Muppet Treasure Island' watch?v=ltWirB6jKh0))**


	7. Chapter 7

**There is always a better pirate**

"Knew getting away would be the hard part.."

Peter held onto the edges of his seat as the pilot threw the shuttle into a series of evasive maneuvers. He couldn't feel any of that, mind you. Even Grineer shuttles had state of the art devices that kept prodigious accelerations from turning the occupants into greasy red smears on the rear bulkheads. But he could see out the canopy as the stars shifted radically. Admittedly the various things that flew past them also served as a visual cue that something was wrong. But none of that the shuttle, so the pilot was doing things right. Her name was Ell, but she rarely used it, preferring to be called 'Flash' for some funny reason. Since she could outfly anyone on the ship, Peter included, they all allowed her some quirks.

"How long?" Peter queried.

"Two minutes left on the timers." Flash replied without turning. Peter approved. The woman had said when Peter had found her that she was good. She was proving it, maneuvering again and again to avoid englobement by the swarm of Dregs and Darygns chasing them.

"The Jolly Roger?" Peter scanned the screens he could see but did not see the icon for his ship.

"They moved out of sensor range a while ago. Whoops!" Flash did something and the ship groaned as the stars spun wildly. "Gogre disabled the Ogmas, yes?" Her question was loud, to be heard by the others.

"There was no way to do it permanently without blowing them up." Gogre called from the rear compartment. "I just made it hard. Have they launched any?"

"Two." The pilot said with a frown. "They shouldn't be able to catch us." She snarled as did something else. "Naught Temporal Dregs, trying to catch us with tractor beams. We need some guns on this thing, Boss."

"If we put guns on it..." Peter said with a grin. "Then you will blow everything up and leave us nothing to steal." Flash barked a laugh but did not look away from her controls.

"I wouldn't blow _everything_ up!" Flash protested.

"Just everything you can aim at." Gogre's quick rejoinder had the entire team chuckling. Flash had a few anger management issues. Especially with recalcitrant Grineer tech.

"Hey!" Flash protested. "I didn't _mean_ to shoot that wall. The controls made no sense. And nobody was hurt."

"No one will ever let you near an Ogma again." Peter said to general mirth. Flash pouted, but kept her focus on flying. "We like the ship _intact_ with all the air on the _inside_." He checked the chrono. "Time?"

"Tine."The pilot agreed and pulled up a scan of the Galleon. It was still pursuing them but had been left far behind by the swift shuttle. The fighter swarm was still collecting all around them even as light blossomed on the side of the Galleon and Peter grinned. Flash let out a whoop as the Galleon went dark.

The plan had always been a deception play. The whole idea was to keep the Grineer guessing as long as possible. Peter's crew, while highly experienced in various forms of mayhem, didn't have _nearly_ the numbers to fight a fully crewed Galleon and win. That had never been anywhere close to the plan. That was why all of the Dargyn that had accompanied Peter's assault force had been flown by remote control from the Jolly Roger and the boarding pods hadn't had any troops in them. He knew that the Grineer on the other Galleon would check the boarding pods, find them empty and assume that the troops inside had gone to do something else. That was what Grineer did. They sent hordes of clones in pods to assault other ships. If there were no troops in the pods, then they had to be aboard somewhere. Most of the crew of the Galleon had been scurrying around, trying to figure out where the boarders had gone, and that had left a golden opportunity for Peter's small team to get in and accomplish their theft. He had planned to just have the pods empty. But his crew were conniving little weasels and most of them had grudges against the Grineer, so...

Peter smiled at the cheer that went up through the shuttle as the Galleon that had been pursuing them lost all power. The explosives that had been put into each pod had been disguised as various things and made of field expedient materials. None of the devices were nuclear grade, but two of the pods had contained pressurized gases. Again, the materials were scavenged and cheap. Not to mention, without any high tech, hard to detect and counter. Those gasses would have been expelled as the timers had counted down, saturating the area around the pods with a highly volatile mix of pure oxygen and other things. The whole idea was to cause a massive explosion with as little in the way of materials as possible. Pre-Orokin the concept would have been called a 'Fuel Air Explosive'.

Now? Peter smirked as a hull plate ten times the size of the shuttle literally _flew_ off the Galleon. Other debris was flying every which way as the atmosphere inside vented into space at an alarming rate from a dozen large holes. It wouldn't destroy the huge ship. It _did_ make a hell of a mess. Such an attack wouldn't have worked on a Corpus ship. They put far more safeguards into their ships than Grineer did. Grineer tech worked and that was good enough. Most of the time.

For a moment, the swarm of Grineer that had been pursing them paused, as if in shock. Then they started closing.

"Oops." Flash had a malicious grin on her face. "I think we made them mad. Permission to make them madder, sir?"

"Don't _start_ , Flash." Peter said with a growl. She looked at him and he shook his head. "Just get us out of here."

"Right." Flash threw a switch and Peter could hear the acceleration compensators whining to keep up. A piece of space debris appeared nearby. Something huge and silvered. Whatever it had once been, now it was a twisted and torn chuck of metal that looked oddly melted. Neither of them commented as the shuttle flew around the mountain of ancient metal. Flash did grin at the sight that greeted them on the other side. The rest of the crew had been busy with the remote control Darygns while they had been gone. Flash did not speak, simply threw the throttles wide open on a divergent course as the half a hundred angry Grineer followed them around the debris.

Right into the space junk _minefield_. Take high speed and inertia. Mix in some fairly massive pieces of space junk collected in close proximity. Add high grade explosives. _Ouch_.

"Yes!" Flash crowed as flashes started behind them. Peter just watched, eyes narrow as the Grineer chasing them were cut to ribbons. Explosions were happening faster and faster but then he tensed. Flash did too as an even dozen Grineer Dregs managed to turn away from the killing ground and arc towards them. None of the rest were going to get out of the mess unscathed if Peter knew _anything_ about the crew's hatred for the Queens.

"Flash?" Peter asked quietly.

"We cannot outrun them." Flash licked her lips. "If we lead them back to the Jolly Roger, then this was all for naught." She shook her head. "We took out the turrets to make space for the loot."

"You protested." Peter said softly as the Grineer closed. "Should have listened."

"We need the Oxium and the crew voted." Flash shrugged. "Get to the escape pod, Boss. I got this." The pod would only hold one person since it had all the Oxium in it already.

"We live as a crew, we die as a crew, Flash." Peter did not move from his chair. "I am not going."

"Boss..." Flash turned to look at him and then groaned at his expression. "Ah, never mind."

"Smart human." Peter said with a smile. "The others will continue the fight even if we cannot. Was a hell of a-" He froze as something new impinged the sensors. "What the?"

"I..." Flash seemed stunned as the Grineer chasing them suddenly found _themselves_ under attack.

The Tenno was tiny. It was little bigger than a human, that armored form. It was barely visible on their sensors. The golden wings on its back blazed with pure light as it danced through the suddenly desperate Grineer flight. Flash's mouth was hanging open and Peter was little better as the ancient warrior blew the Grineer that had been chasing them into space dust. They both tensed as the winged form flashed to match their course and speed. It looked at them and then it vanished as if it had never been there.

"Ah... Boss...?" Flash swallowed hard. "What just happened?"

"I don't know." Peter admitted. "Tenno don't like any Grineer. I doubt they would consider _us_ any different."

"They don't." A new voice sounded and both froze as a hologram appeared over the console in front of them. The masked woman was calm, serene even. "As far as they are concerned..." The Lotus shrugged. "This is all an elaborate plot on the part of the Queens. You have to admit, the Queens _could_ set up something like this."

"They could." Peter had drawn his Grakata in reflex, but stowed it. It wouldn't do any good against a hologram. He didn't want to blow a hole on the canopy either. "But they are not."

"Proving that will be somewhat difficult." The Lotus shook her head. "I was curious why Grineer were fighting each other. Now my curiosity is sated." Her tone hardened. "You have something that does not belong to you." Flash jerked, but Peter just nodded.

"Where do you want it delivered?" Peter asked calmly. He could swear he had startled the Lotus. "Hey, _we_ don't want it. Tenno are _bad_ news." Considering how effortlessly one had just wiped out the pursuers? No, he wasn't going to quibble. At all.

"Wants have very little to do with things at times. We will be in touch." Was the Lotus _smiling?_ She _was!_ "For what it is worth? Good luck. You are going to need it." She started to fade and then paused. The she _grinned_. "Drink up, me hearties! Yo ho!"

The others stared at each other as the holo vanished. It was a very quiet trip back to the ship.

* * *

An hour later

"That was... bloody weird." Flash hadn't spoken until they landed back on the Jolly Roger, the rest of the team was working to offload the Oxium. Peter nodded, lost in thought. "Boss?"

"She didn't say where." Peter said quietly. "I need to check some things. You are off shift."

"Boss!" Flash protested and then shut her mouth with a click as Peter glared at her.

"If everything had gone as planned, you would still have three hours on shift. It _didn't_. You just flew like a madwoman." Peter laid a slow hand on Flash's arm. She did not jerk away. "Get some rest. Well flown. I am going to ask for two extra shares for you when it goes to vote."

"I don't need money, Boss." Flash said softly. Peter nodded. "I just want to get some of my own back, you know?" She too had her demons, her own accounting for the Grineer.

"I know." Peter sighed and patted her shoulder. She froze and so did he."Sorry. I forgot. I am still going to ask. You earned it." She would not meet his eyes as he retracted his hand, cursing the Queens. "Flash, I am sorry."

"Not your fault. Just hurt them, Boss." Flash's voice was a monotone now. "For all of us. _Hurt them._ "

"Don't you _dare_ leave us, Flash!" Peter snapped. "We need you. We need your piloting. We need you mad skills. I shouldn't have touched you. That is on _me_! Not _you_." He keyed an emergency call to Anne.

"It hurts... so much..." Flash was shaking now, her tone oddly childlike. "It is all gone, all of it! Why does it still hurt so much?"

"They want you weak, Flash." Peter said sharply. "You are not!" She looked away and he snarled at her. "Don't make me thrash you, _Maureen!_ " Flash jerked and then turned to look at him, hurt in her eyes.

Anne appeared and without a word, injected Flash with a hypo she had ready. The pilot crumpled without another word. Peter caught her and held her gently.

"I messed up." Peter said with a grunt as he carried Flash from the shuttle. "Shouldn't have touched her shoulder." Anne winced and he nodded. He was not surprised to find a gurney ready that he laid Flash on. Anne started working. "Should have remembered. Remembered what they did to her."

"You are not perfect anymore than any of the rest of us are." Anne said as she started the gurney off. "She won't remember this episode, will she?"

"No." Peter sighed as he followed. "Part of the programming they did to her. Bastards. Tell her what happened when she wakes. She will understand."

"And if she chooses an end?" Anne asked. Peter looked at her and she slumped. "I don't like this."

"None of us do." Peter agreed. "But it works. We are all that we have. All that we can rely on. If we start making arbitrary rules for our own convenience, this will all fall apart."

"I will tend her." Anne said sadly as she guided the gurney. "Swan is awake and the milk seemed to help." Peter froze in mid-stride and Anne was quick to reassure him. "We haven't released her."

"How did you get milk?" Peter demanded. "That only comes from...female..." He trailed off and then groaned. "Zei."

"She did not do it herself." Anne said calmly. "No one has physically touched Swan. Zei found a chemical formula for something like milk and we made it. Swan was moaning in her sleep, we fed it to her and she relaxed. She woke and wasn't hungry. Boss, maybe..."

"No." Peter said flatly, turning on his heel to stride from the confused doctor.

* * *

The Galleon seemed empty. The crew were either working or sleeping. He had a lot to think about, but right now, he had to check the cryopod. Something about the Lotus' comments about wants bothered him. He opened the hatch and stepped into the room. Then he froze. The cryopod was _open!_ He hit an emergency code on his personal com.

"Oh crap!" Peter kept his hand well away from his Grakata as he scanned the room. He spun to hit the door and froze. A figure out of nightmare stood between him and the door.

The Tenno was odd looking. The bio armor did not look like anything Peter himself would call armor. He had only seen a few Tenno and rarely for very long. The one in space had been the closest he had ever been to a Tenno. Until now. This one's armor looked more cloth-like than armor-like. But Peter could see patches of thicker bioarmor at the shoulders. The hands were human looking. But it was the head that had him staring. The helmet looked... familiar.

No. No, not the helmet. Just the shape of it. It was reminiscent of a hat that pirates were commonly seen wearing in many of the movies he had managed to find. Something called a Tri-gun, Tri-glore, or something? He wasn't _about_ ask the Tenno.

"You are free to go." Peter said with commendable poise. "No one aboard will try to stop you." The Tenno just looked at him. Peter stepped back away from the bio-armored form. The Tenno did not move and Peter sighed. "Look, no one aboard is dumb enough to fight you. Go on, get out of here. You have bigger fights than a bunch of..."

"Pirates." Another voice had Peter spinning and reflexively drawing his Grakata. The human form that had been concealed in the shadows did not react. The human was shaking his head. "Do you have _any_ idea the _mess_ this going to make?"

"Who are you?" Peter demanded as he glanced at the Tenno. Had it moved? Hard to say. It didn't seem to have any weapons handy, but then again Tenno _were_ weapons.

"Calmly, my friend." The human held up empty hands. "Parley?"

" _Parley?_ " Peter couldn't _possibly_ have heard that right.

"Yes, I know the Code is more guidelines than actual rules. I watched that movie from the ducts as a pair of your crew did and I find it hilarious." The other replied. "But this doesn't need to come to a fight. A fight I would lose. As to who I am? My name is Edmund." He bowed to Peter. "I would like to join your crew."

"Join... my crew." Peter was having an existential moment. He wasn't sure what was real right now. Here he was, standing almost within reach of one of the warrior gods of antiquity and he was discussing _recruitment_? Then he stiffened, the Tenno was gone! "What?"

"He doesn't like crowds." Edmund said with a shrug as five heavily armored crew came running in only to skid to stop on seeing the tableau. "To answer your question I have been on this ship for some time. I was taken in a Grineer slave raid and I woke up here. I managed to get out of my cell and made it to a duct." He made a face. "And let me tell you, raw rat is _disgusting_."

"Ah, captain?" The leader of the team asked. "What is going on?" He swore as he saw the cryopod. "What the- What did you do, human?"

"I am afraid that is my fault." Edmund said weakly as the crew moved to restrain him. "I was curious. I touched it and it opened." Edmund hissed as the team moved his arms and Peter's eyes narrowed as he saw one had been broken and crudely splinted. "He wasn't very happy with me."

"This I _have_ to hear." Peter said dryly. "But yes..."

"Parley."


	8. Chapter 8

**Add a touch of intrigue...**

"Now... why do I not believe your story?"

Peter hadn't spoken while the crew had ushered their strange 'guest' to Anne's domain for scans and then into a cell where Peter had been waiting. The captain was patient. Mostly. He did not move from his spot near one wall as the crew moved the human who called himself Edmund into a chair and restrained him there. They nodded to Peter and left the room.

"Probably because it is fairly unbelievable." Edmund didn't seem fazed at all by the near hostility that the crew had shown him. He shook his head. "I wouldn't have been nearly so gentle. I probably would have tossed me out the airlock on general principle."

"The day is young." Peter said quietly. "You escaped the cells, hid in the ducts, lived on rats and woke the Tenno."

"I touched the pod." Edmund shrugged. "It sprang open and he jumped out. I don't know if my touching it woke him or not."

"And the Tenno broke your arm." Peter might have been carved from ice.

"I do not think he intended to." Edmund looked pensive for a moment. "I made a lot of noise when he jumped out of the pod." Peter just looked at him and Edmund grimaced. "I do not know what he did. I _do_ know that I hit the wall hard. I woke up with him splinting my arm. And no, I do not know why. I know you cannot trust me, but I would like the chance to join your crew."

"So now, we have a Tenno loose on this ship." Peter did not frown. Indeed, he did not react much at all. "The _last_ thing we need is to fight Tenno. Our quarrel is with the Queens, not the Lotus. We will not hunt the Tenno nor hinder him at all if and when he shows up." Edmund nodded but Peter wasn't done. "So... That leaves you."

"Yeah." Edmund shrugged again. "That leaves me."

"There are no records of a prisoner escaping from the cells without assistance. At least, not in the last few months. If you had been surviving on raw rat for a month or two, you would look a lot worse." Peter said mildly. "Add to that... Even at their most lax, Grineer would keep _some_ records. Even if just that a particular cell was occupied for a time and then not. Are you going to tell me that you altered the records, deleted the ones that you wanted while you were evading capture in the ducts and surviving on raw rats?" Before Edmund could speak, Peter continued. "Oh and by the way the ducts around the detention area are _half_ your size." The captain's hand was on his Vaykor Marelok now. "Try again."

"I was desperate?" Edmund's tone was odd. Resigned. He wasn't afraid. Not really. "Desperation makes people do thing that might otherwise seem impossible?" He froze as Peter drew his pistol. "Ah."

"Who are you working for?" Peter was calm as he took careful aim. "I won't ask nicely again. If needed, I will do a full interrogation, but that gets so messy."

"I cannot tell you that." Edmund said softly. "I can say I am no threat to your ship or crew."

"You know I cannot trust that." Peter did not shift his aim. "You came aboard in stealth for some purpose that I do not know. I would be within my rights as Captain to shoot you as a spy. You know this." Edmund nodded. "Give me a reason not to."

"Your purchases have been noticed by many _outside_ the Grineer. Weapons. Sensors baffling gear. Non standard boarding machinery." Edmund said just as quietly. Peter stiffened and Edmund nodded. "Some are curious. Some are worried. Some are contemplating a preemptive attack."

"Corpus." Peter shook his head. "Don't like them, but they are not my focus."

"Think about it, Captain." Edmund said with a frown. "What do Corpus center on more than anything else? What is the _single_ driving motivation behind their _entire_ society?"

" _Profit?_ We are not going to attack the _Corpus_!" Peter declared angrily. "We have _enough_ enemies."

"Historically speaking..." Edmund sounded weary now. "Pirates have _always_ been bad for business. Even if they limited their depredations to specific ships, they drove costs up for everyone." Edmund shrugged again. "I personally find what you are doing to be laudable. The Grineer are scum and need to be taken down a peg or three. No offense."

"Technically, to be Grineer, we would have to revere the Queens." Peter snapped. "We _don't._ So feel free to insult _them_."

"Again, personally, I believe you." Edmund said with a frown. "But my word is worthless to many. I _can_ offer some truth. I was aboard before you took this ship. I was in the ducts." Peter stiffened but Edmund wasn't done. "My job was to gather intelligence. It still is."

"You are in contact with the Corpus now." Peter's words were not a question.

"In a way." Edmund didn't -quite- agree. "It is not foolproof and they will do nothing if you kill me. Well, except to treat you like they treat any Grineer. As a stain to be blotted out at the least excuse."

"Hypothetically..." Peter had not lowered his pistol. "What would it take to get the Corpus off our backs?"

"You do not want to go there, Captain." Edmund warned. "You do not."

"I am not offering the crew to them to be turned into drones or interrogated and throw away." Peter retorted. "All I am asking is what would it take to get them to leave us alone for a time."

"I don't know." Edmund seemed shaken by that. "You really do not expect to survive this, do you?" Peter did not reply and Edmund sighed. "I honestly do not know, Captain. I am not a member of the Board."

There it was. He had just about admitted he _was_ Corpus. But not rank and file. That made him either incredibly stupid or incredibly _dangerous_. Peter did not think the human was stupid.

"Can you find out?" Peter still hadn't lowered his pistol.

"What exactly are you asking?" Edmund wasn't sure about this. That was clear. He wasn't afraid to die. That was clear as well. But things were not going as he had anticipated. He needed time to comprehend the twists in what Peter was doing and Peter was not going to give him time. "I... might be able to send a request for information up the line. But they would want as much information as possible. They do _not_ like acting blindly. They are just as likely to cut me out as to respond."

"And if they cut you out?" Peter queried, not moving.

"Nothing good." Edmund shrugged again. "I don't have a bomb implanted or anything. Too easy to detect. But I bet they would send a kill team after me if I don't die at your hands."

"Rank?" Peter demanded suddenly. Edmund just looked at him. "Come on, you are no line Crewman."

"I cannot answer that, Captain." Edmund said softly. "If that means my death, so be it."

"Okay, hypothetically then..." Peter lowered his pistol a little. "If we were not on my ship, would I outrank you?" Edmund met his eyes and Peter smiled. It was _not_ a pretty smile. "I bet you know who I was."

"I do." Edmund did not react to the pointed teeth. "I... I want to say 'No'." He shook his head. "I am not sure. The rank structures are different. You were a Lieutenant."

"Before Tengus, yes." Peter closed his mouth. "Now I am Captain and while my will may be law here, the crew also gets a vote. Your status will be put to a vote." Edmund jerked in his bonds and Peter shook his head. "If they vote to kill you, we will. If they vote to interrogate you, we will."

"I have an anti-interrogation protocol-" Edmund broke off and shook his head. "You know that."

"Special Forces augmentation is cloaked from normal scans." Peter holstered his weapon. "Not medical ones. If you had lied to me, I would blown your brains out and taken the consequences. You didn't. You really think the Corpus will attack us?"

"I don't _know_." Edmund slumped in his bonds. "My gut says 'yes'. The Board are nothing if not desperate to hold onto their wealth. Anything that threatens it in any way, even indirectly, will be squashed as fast as they are able."

"So why does that bother you?" Peter's voice was almost kind now.

"Why didn't you kill the little girl?" Edmund retorted. Peter just looked at him and Edmund nodded. "I was watching. I did open the pod accidentally and the Tenno inside did throw me into the wall when he saw me. I do not know why. I do not know why he splinted my arm. But again, Captain... Why _not_ kill the girl? She is a threat. A danger to any of your crew."

"She did not choose to be a monster." Peter said flatly. "Neither did I. I gave her a chance to find a better way. No more."

"That makes you more human than many humans I have met." Edmund said softly. Peter jerked at that. "Yes, you are pragmatic. If she cannot or will not control herself, you will do what has to be done for the sake of the ship." That was a statement of fact.

"You will stay here until the crew votes." Peter ignored Edmund's words. "I cannot have a Corpus Special Forces recon operative running around the ship. I bet you have already seen far too much for my peace of mind."

"You _do_ have rats, Captain." Edmund had a faint smile on his face as Peter moved towards the door. The former Grineer looked at him and Edmund nodded. "And yes, they are disgusting to eat even with augmentation."

"And they call _me_ crazy." Peter shook his head as he left the cell. Edmund jerked as his restraints unlocked.

"Crazy like a fox." Edmund did not rise from his chair. He settled in to wait.

"Or more than a _few_ pirates in history."

* * *

Nearby

"Corpus..." Sora shook her head as Peter walked into the briefing room. A screen showed Edmund sitting in the chair. He hadn't moved. " _Just_ what we needed."

"You believe him?" Peter asked. Sora made a face and Peter nodded. "Me too. No normal human would have been doing what he was. Special Forces would have been able to observe and keep hidden even as we revamped the ship. The Tenno is an open question. Any sign?" Sora shook her head and Peter made a face. "Probably whenever and wherever we least expect it. Everyone know not to resist?"

"Yeah." Sora sighed. "Goes against the grain but we have enough enemies."

"That we do, and now apparently more." Peter shook his head. "We need to keep the Corpus off our backs while we go after the Grineer. If he is Special Forces, and every piece of evidence says he _is_ , then we can use him."

"If we can trust him." Sora's tone conveyed her opinion of that possibility quite nicely.

"Who said anything about _trusting_ him?" Peter demanded. "I had Anne put a tracker in. Maybe his augmentation can disable it, maybe not. If it does, we get rid of him. One way or another."

"And if it _doesn't_?" Sora demanded. "He _really_ wants to join the crew?"

"What better way to keep an eye on us?" Peter asked with a shrug. "I mean, when Gogre has the Oxium set up, we will be able to emulate the sensor patterns of almost any ship out there from Fomorian on down. We will even be able to use Void fields at times for limited periods. Invisibility will come in very handy. How would they track us?"

"Was a good point about the profiteers reacting badly to upheavals in prices." Sora wasn't agreeing, simply stating facts.

"I wonder if that is why the Tenno hasn't left." Peter mused. "To keep an eye on us."

"No way to know." Sora shook her head. "Did Anne talk to you about Swan?"

"No." Peter turned to face his second in command. "What about her?"

"Anne did a genetic test on her." Sora said after a moment. "She and I are related." Peter stiffened and Sora nodded. "Yeah."

"All of your sisters are dead." Peter said slowly. Sora nodded. "So..." He broke off and groaned. "Regor."

"Is there _any_ way we can hurt him?" Sora was shaking a bit in memory. Peter laid a hand on her arm and she did not brush it away. "He is doing it again."

"I don't think so, Sora." Peter said after a moment. "His labs are deep. Too deep for bombardment. Far too secure for any of us to get in." Sora turned away, staring at the screen with Edmund and Peter shook his head. "No. He won't do it. Sora think!" The captain gave her a shake when she hissed. "What would he gain? Regor just clones himself every time he is killed Just like any of the upper echelons, he has clones ready at a moment's notice. The infrastructure is too deep for us to blast from orbit and too heavily garrisoned for an assault. Sora... I am sorry." Peter dropped his hand from her arm. "I don't think we can do it."

"He made a hundred of us." Sora would have been crying, if she was able. "It wasn't enough. So he made more. But she is human. How did he make her? He had to be the one who did it."

"I don't know." Peter said softly. "How is she doing?"

"About as well as can be expected." Sora clicked a control and the screen spilt. One side showed Edmund in his chair. The other showed Swan sitting on a bed, reading something. The brown and green collar around the girl's neck was familiar. "We set it for her size and it will knock her out not cause permanent damage." Peter sighed but Sora was having none of it. "She is not you, Peter. She seems resigned to her fate."

" _Is_ she?" Peter asked, his tone odd. Sora stared at him and then she stiffened as he waved at the screen. "That video is a _loop!_ " He ran from the room, drawing his Marelok as he ran. Sora followed, her own Karak coming to hand easily.

It wasn't far. Sora had set the girl up a room in the detention area as it was the most secure facility on the ship. Medical was fairly close. They both paused outside the girl's room. Sora waved at Peter and he moved to the far side of the door. Sora nodded and hit the intercom.

"Swan?" Sora asked. "You awake?"

"He said you would be upset." Swan's voice was resigned and more than a bit scared. "He is gone." The pair entered the room and stiffened as they saw Swan lying on her bed, her collar in her hands. She was trying to put it back on. "He took it off me!" She pleaded. "Fix it! Please!"

"Oh, Swan..." Sora holstered her rifle and moved to the bed, sitting beside the girl. She examined the collar. It was broken in two places. "That one won't work anymore."

"He didn't come in the door." Swan was crying now. "He was just here and he was mad. I was scared and he touched it. It fell off! _I didn't do it!_ " She pleaded as Peter looked around the cell. The drain set against one wall looked wrong. Discolored. Had the Tenno come in that way somehow? "You have to believe me! I didn't do it!"

"No." Peter holstered his pistol. "You didn't. If _you_ had tried, it would have knocked you unconscious. Is the milk helping?"

"Yeah." Swan relaxed a little as Sora hugged her gently. "Still hungry, but not as bad. I can handle it."

"I am glad." Peter slumped a bit. "You can't stay here."

"But I _like_ it here!" Swan said sharply. "I can't hurt anyone while I am here. I can't hurt Zei. Or Sora or anyone. I don't want to hurt anyone!" She repeated.

"Swan, you are a member of the crew." Peter kept his tone gentle by sheer force of will. "You are not a prisoner. We shouldn't treat you as one. We will find a job for you. I am not sure what you can do, but you are not a child so we will find work for you that you can do."

"I am afraid." Swan snuggled closer to Sora who let her cling.

"So am I." Peter replied. Swan stared at him and he shrugged. "Tenno scare me. Can you blame me?"

"No." Swan said after a moment. "It was terrifying. He just appeared in that corner." She nodded towards the drain and Peter frowned but nodded.

"He must have looped the cameras." Sora said after a moment of comforting Swan who reacted as child would, calming. "But why? Why break her collar? He had to know we would detect it."

"He spoke to you?" Peter asked Swan who shook her head.

"It wasn't words." Swan said after a moment. "It was in my head. When I saw him, I screamed and tried to get away. But the door was locked." She slumped a bit and Sora held her tight. "I screamed for help and no one heard me. Then he spoke in my head. He told me to be calm, that he wouldn't hurt me. I was so surprised, I let him break the collar. I..."

"We have treated you badly, Swan." Peter said after a moment. "Every one of us aboard this ship is a danger. To ourselves. To others. Locking you in here was _wrong_."

"But... Captain..." Swan protested as Peter walked to the bed and held out his hand to her.

"I know your hunger, Swan." Peter said quietly as she reached out a trembling hand to take his.

"I won't let you fall prey to it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay. Life is SO unfun sometimes.**

* * *

 **First star to the right**

"I still think you _have_ to be kidding."

Peter smiled a little as Swan started working. They had found something she was good at. Despite her apparent age, she was smart _and_ organized. She wasn't a child no matter what she looked like. She had records management _down_. She was a bit eerie in how well she cross referenced and found things at the touch of a button, but try as she might, she couldn't remember where she had learned that. Probably something in the flash growing that Tyl Regor had done to make her. She was good at reading masses of information and picking out choice bits from the mess.

"The milk helps, Swan." Sora nodded to Peter who started for the door. "And we do need this done."

"Yeah." Swan paused as Peter moved to the door. "I can't stay. Can I, Captain?" Peter paused and turned to face her, his face neutral. "I like you. I think."

"Swan, we don't have a future." Peter said quietly as Sora nodded. "If you can be helped, you _do_."

"You are stronger than I ever could be, Captain." Swan's face was bleak as she looked up from her terminal. "This hunger is horrible. But the milk... It won't work for you, will it?" Her expression blanked as Peter shook his head. "And that is why... What will you do?"

"Do not take offense at this, Swan..." Peter kept his tone neutral. "But there are only three of us who know the plan. I am the only one who knows it all." He shook his head. "Two people can keep a secret..." He paused as Swan laughed a bit sourly.

"..if one is _dead_ , but only if that one is not a politician." Swan smirked at Peter's suddenly less than blank expression. She paused. "I don't know where I remember that from, but the feeling is of irony."

"It is _definitely_ ironic." Peter shook his head and left the room. Sora smiled at Swan who looked at her.

"I don't want you to die." For a moment, Swan sounded her apparent age.

"Everything that is mortal dies, Swan." Sora chided the younger looking being gently. "That is the definition of 'mortal'. I have been on borrowed time since Tengus' lab." She shrugged. "This gives me a chance to strike back."

"All of you." Swan mused and then gave herself a shake. "What will happen to me?"

"We don't know." Sora shook her head as Swan touched the necklace she wore. Not a slave collar now that the hidden Tenno had all but declared that she wouldn't be left in one. It was a tracking device only. "There are a number of people who might be able to help. We are going to see about getting you to them."

"And if they cannot help me?" Swan asked, her tone bleak. Sora did not answer and Swan bowed her head. "I wish... I wish I knew how we are related. I mean, you are a clone. I am not."

"No and that is driving Anne nuts." Sora said with a smile. Swan matched that smile but then focused on her screen. "Obviously, Tyl Regor and Tengus made you somehow, but the only records will be in their labs, which we have no access to."

"Would anyone?" Swan asked, suddenly intent.

"I know Tenno have raided both places, but they guard their secrets zealously, Swan." Sora warned. "Tenno are bad news at the best of times and they have no reason to trust us. None at all."

"I do not know that being in the odd suit." Swan said after a moment. "I have never met him. So why is he so interested in me?"

"No idea." Sora shrugged and moved towards the door. "The com is live if you want to talk. We have a lot of work to do."

"Let me see if I can get this organized a bit better." Swan did not look up from her terminal as Sora left the room. "Even though I don't know why you are letting me do this."

 _They have nothing to lose._ A familiar inaudible voice sounded and Swan jerked up from her terminal with a cry as a presence made itself felt. She spun around, staring, but no one was in the room with her.

"What? Who is there?"

 _I frightened you earlier._ The voice sounded regretful. _That was not my intent. I did not understand the actual situation and was angry to see you collared. You have nothing to fear from me, Swan._ The being who looked like a young girl froze as a form simply appeared in one corner. It was as if the armored form rose out of some kind of viscous liquid to assume humanoid proportions. The Tenno shook his head. _You are very brave._

"What choice do I have?" Swan demanded. "I cannot fight you. I cannot stop you! Even if I could take a bite, your armor would stop me and you are far stronger than me."

 _Physically, yes._ The other did not move, did not make any gestures at all. But physical violence is not the be all and end all. You have a future, Swan. This crew does not, of their own free will."

"Future?" Swan demanded angrily. "I cannot stop the hunger! What kind of _future_ is it when I cannot even touch anyone without wondering if I am going to take a bite out of them?" She slumped, tears starting to fall. "I am a monster."

 _So am I._ The Tenno's respond jolted the girl. She stared at him, dumbfounded. _Swan, I do not know the future. I am no Oracle. There are strict limits to what I can do and how. What I can say and how. But_ **this** _, I can say to you... You are not alone._

"Why?" Swan begged as the Tenno seemed to melt. There was no answer. She slumped a bit for a moment and then turned back to her terminal, wiping her eyes automatically. She never noticed that when she murmured, it wasn't in any modern language.

"Bozhe moi"

* * *

Not very nearby on the ship

"You are the luckiest human in existence."

Peter's old voice stirred Edmund out of a doze. The Corpus soldier looked up as the Captain strode into the room, his face set.

"I assume they did not vote to kill me." Edmund was far calmer than he should have been. Then again, danger was his life. He probably could have escaped the cell and the ship if he had desired such. He didn't.

"The Corpus need an eye on the situation or they will act." Peter growled as he started undoing the restraints that had held Edmund to the chair for several hours. "Will they trust your view?" Edmund scoffed and Peter glared at him.

"No." Edmund shrugged as he rose, the Captain stepping back, hand on his pistol. "But I report to other people who the Board _do_ trust to give accurate information." He heaved a sigh. "Well, as much as any of the Board trust _anyone_."

"We cannot take you as part of the crew." Peter said with a grunt as he moved to the door. "But that doesn't mean we cannot hold you for ransom." Edmund stared at the Captain and then a slow smile lit the human soldier's features.

"And of course... the negotiations will be drawn out." The human's grin was sly as Peter shared his smile. "And _also_ of course, for you to verify to my _bosses_ that I am alive, I will need to be in constant contact. Otherwise, you just murder me and take the money. Filthy pirate."

"Our trust is very limited." Peter said with a nod. "You are not one of us. We have humans in our midst, but our focus is only on our mission. We have been sidetracked too much already. Get in our way and benefits or no, Corpus attacks or no, you walk the plank."

"Walk the-" Edmund paused and then frowned. "What?" Peter sighed.

"Never mind, ancient pirate reference." Peter shook his head. "We will toss you out the airlock without a suit."

"I don't want to go Dutchman today." Edmund's smile returned. "One question, am I allowed arms?"

"Yes." Peter's simple reply seemed to throw the human for a loop. "We will almost certainly be attacked and boarded at some point. Every member of the crew is armed. You are smart enough to know that no matter how good you may be, you are seriously outnumbered and outgunned. You can hurt us, yes. Kill us all? No."

"Even the little girl?" Edmund asked carefully as Peter opened the door to his cell and started out, the human following carefully. No one was in evidence and Edmund shook his head. "Where is everyone?"

"Working." Peter didn't pause and Edmund hurried to catch up. "You saw how many people we have to crew the ship."

"I was more worried about staying out of sight than counting numbers." Edmund froze as a door ahead opened, showing an armory. A completely stocked Grineer armory. All of the weapons looked unlocked, ready to use."You cannot be serious."

"Every weapon on this ship is accounted for." Peter just stopped at the door and waved Edmund in. "You know the way to the bridge?"

"Yes..." The human drawled the word out, not moving towards the open door.

"Pick what you want and meet me there. Everyone aboard is armed and dangerous. But if you are half as smart as I think you are, you won't pick fights you will lose." Peter started off, leaving Edmund to stare after him. "I will have something for you to do. Don't want you bored." Then he was gone. Edmund swallowed hard.

"Why do I get the feeling that _his_ idea of 'not being bored' matches the _Commander's_?" The human soldier asked rhetorically as he started perusing the array of weaponry. It was all Grineer tech of course and he shuddered a bit.

"Ah! Where is _Violet_ when I _need_ her?"

* * *

Thirty minutes later

Peter his a smile as Zei put Edmund through his paces on the communication system. Everyone who wasn't busy with jobs of their own was watching the Corpus soldier like a hawk but to his credit, the man didn't flinch from the scrutiny. Also to his credit, he hadn't gone overboard with weaponry. A Vulkar sniper rifle was what he had chosen. A few minutes on the range with Peter had demonstrated that the Corpus soldier, while far from expert with the Grineer weapon, was quite good despite his lack of familiarity. The sniper rifle was an odd choice, but Edmund's reasoning seemed sound. If boarders came, they would almost certainly be Grineer. He wouldn't have much of a chance in close combat so, he would strike from afar and flee. His armor was the same as the rest of the crew, if not as bulky and heavy.

It was a bit nervous making to have a not-completely-trusted human armed with a high caliber weapon close at hand. Then again, Peter had managed most of what he had done by taking risks. The crew's decision not to space Edmund had forced the captain to keep the man aboard. For the moment anyway. Things could change.

"Captain." Edmund said calmly from where he stood. Peter moved to his side. "Response."

"Already?" Peter used. Edmund nodded. "They work fast."

"The Clergy learned not to dither a long time ago." Edmund made a face and Peter shrugged. Human matters were little concern to him as long as they left him alone. "They acknowledge the ransom request and will send it up the chain." Peter looked at him and Edmund grinned. "Said automated chain will take at least a week. As soon as it gets to a flesh and blood person, they will deny it, sending it back _down_ the chain to be sent by the same station as picked up my communication. At which point, I can immediately send an appeal."

"Which will _also_ take two weeks to go up and down?" Peter asked, a slow smile crossing his features as Edmund nodded. "Wow. And I though _Grineer_ bureaucracy was a mess."

"And this is just the _lowest_ level." Edmund chuckled as several of the crew nearby made various expressions of disgust mixed with apprehension. "Good news is, they won't bother you. Bad news is, I need to be here in case someone circumvents the chain. That shouldn't happen. The Clergy assure me it won't, but I have always believed strongly in Murfee."

" _Murfee?_ " Peter asked, but Zei and the other humans were nodding. "Do I want to know?" He was only half joking.

"It's a human thing. Murfee's Law. 'What can go wrong, _will_.'" Zei replied instantly. "I have no idea who Murfee was, some ancient wise man. But it holds true."

"That it does." Peter mused. "Murfee, huh? Now I know who to blame."

"Not that it ever does any good. Murfee doesn't care." Edmund heaved sigh. "What now, Captain?" Everyone looked at him and Edmund shrugged. "Officially, I am a hostage for ransom. _Unofficially_ , I am on detached duty. _Very_ detached. On detached duty, I am expected to take orders from the commander on a ship I am aboard. So I will. I am not stupid."

"Does that kind of thing happen _often_?" Zei asked, curious despite herself.

"More than you would think." Edmund made a face. "Not Grineer or 'unaffiliated' ships, mind you. But Corpus? Oh yeah. Disregard a captain's orders on his or her ship if you do not have prior orders to the contrary and your life will be painful. And/or _short_. Doesn't matter _who_ you are."

"Some things don't change it seems." Peter chuckled darkly. "Same on a Grineer ship. This one? I won't _kill_ you." Edmund did not look as if that statement gave him much comfort. "So... as long as I don't order you to do anything that would upset the Corpus..."

"There are jobs I would prefer not to do." Edmund admitted. "But part of my job description is to do what is needed. The old 'Other duties as assigned' clause." More than one of the listeners winced at that. 'Other duties as assigned' was an ancient catch all phrase for 'We can order you to do anything we want. In or out of reason'.

"Ah yes." Peter seemed happy for a moment. "That is such a great clause for ship captains."

"But the captain of this ship is far too open minded and courteous as to abuse his loyal and hard-working crew with-" Edmund's flowery speech was cut off by Zei's elbow in his ribs even as several others bit back chuckles. He rubbed his ribs, casting a hurt look at Zei who looked as innocent as she could. Which wasn't very.

"I am actually worried you might fit in a bit too well here." Peter carefully did not smile. "You are going to have to leave and as you say, the Corpus take a dim view of such things."

"Profit is all." Edmund intoned and then hawked and spat. "Anything that impedes the profit will be removed. But you shouldn't if you are only targeting Grineer."

"Some disruption is inevitable." Peter warned and Edmund nodded. "That said... what say the crew? Shall we go cause some trouble for the Queens?" It was good thing space was a vacuum. If it hadn't been, the cheer that went up might have been audible on Earth. Peter smiled and it was predatory.

"Set your course for Ceres. We are going hunting."

* * *

Within spitting distance, cosmically speaking

The Galleon boosting out of its orbit was not unobserved. The invisible black fighter class ship that had been trailing them matched their speed and course effortlessly. Their communication was not decipherable by anyone outside of Tenno and or the Caretakers of the Unclean. None of whom would share the information they received with the Grineer. Even when the Galleon shimmered and a new one took its place, it's lines the same, but it's numbers and paint job slightly different, NightNova maintained pursuit.

The odd partners did not know why the Grineer Galleon had done what it had done or how. All they knew was that they had been ordered to stay close. To maintain surveillance. To stay close and keep an eye on these pirates who were apparently going to strike the Grineer. How or why? They didn't know. All that they did know was that the Tenno seemed awfully interested in the ship, but also oddly hand's off. Tenno were not , in Mitchell's and NightNova's experience, hesitant to act. So, why was the area around this particular galleon suddenly clear of Void shadows? Where had the Tenno gone? Who had sent them away?

They didn't know the answers to those questions. What was worse? They didn't know if they _wanted_ to know the answers to those questions.

* * *

Somewhere

 _I hate this._

 _I know._

 _She deserves better!_

 _I know._

 _What... What can we do?_

 _Nothing. This has to play out. Hopefully, someone will be able to find a cure before Peter enacts his plan. If so, then she can be removed with ease. If not..._

 _She will go with them._

 _She will demand to. And_ **which** _of us has the right to deny her such an end after what she had gone through?_

 _No one. I just... I hadn't dreamed of such. To see her_ **again** _... And so messed up. It hurts._

 _I know. I know._

 _And you cannot see around her._

 _No. The darkness blinds me as surely as it did before. I cannot touch_ **any** _of them now that she is awake. It is too dangerous. For me and her. Peter was different. He wasn't blocked to my sight. I do not know why._

 _I know. I just... I haven't felt so helpless in a long time._

 _I know. I saw what she did. Why she did it. After I met you, I was curious. She was a good woman._

 _Ha! She was a very_ **bad** _woman, but a good friend. I..._

 _All we can do is being done, Nyx._

 _I know, Janet. But I am afraid._

 _Me too._


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the delay. Real life sucks sometimes. Being sick for two weeks sucks more. Better now.**

* * *

 **Approaching**

"I was expecting... more."

Zei turned to where Swan was working and eyes the girl. Swan was so focused on her work that she barely noticed the humans in the room now. No one would take her hunger for granted -no one was that stupid- but treating her like and animal sat wrongly with a lot of people. No one would completely relax with her around, but no one would confine her either. Especially considering what the Tenno had done. It wasn't every day that one of the boogeymen of the Solar System appeared simply to free someone from a slave collar and then disappeared again. Sora nodded from where she stood by the door and spoke.

"Swan?" The female clone asked. "Problem?"

"I don't know, Sora." The young looking human sounded confused, but her focus never left the display. Sora smiled. Young the human might appear, but she was no novice."I was expecting more Grineer in the area. This is one of their major bases, no?"

Sora moved to stand by the girl's display and scrutinized it as Zei went back to her work. There was a lot to do and little time.

"Hmmm..." Sora shook her head. "Yeah. This is one of their major bases. Lots of shipyards around. This is not a designated fleet staging area, but not an outpost either." She paused. "Anything odd on scans?" This was to everyone. A smattering of shaken heads and she scowled. "I don't like this. There should be more traffic."

"A trap?" Swan looked at her odd relative and Sora shrugged.

"If so, for who?" Swan asked. "We are to all appearances, a Grineer Galleon on profile for the base. If they knew we were here, they would be attacking. The six other Galleons in the area would make short work of us, but... This feels wrong. That is too few for such an base."

"Might they be drawing us further in?" Swan asked and then froze as her display changed, showing something far larger. She paled, but was quick to speak. "Sora!"

"I see it!" Sora was terse as she keyed her com. "Boss? We have detected a Fomorian in orbit around the base."

"Class?" Peter strode onto the bridge and to the ladies console as the tension on the bridge spiked to uncomfortable levels.

"Not a Balor." Sora said quietly, perusing the readouts as Swan worked the passive sensor arrays. Every Grineer ship maintained a number of active scanners operating at all times and the Jolly Roger was no different. But those sensors could only be used in ways that were typical Grineer protocol, so the crew was heavily supplementing the active sensors with everything from infrared detectors to a pair of crew out on the hull in hard suits with powerful telescopes. Even in this day, the Mark One eyeball had its uses. It was also far harder to fool eyes than many sensors. Sora shook her head. "Standard Fomorian. Not that such is _much_ of an improvement."

"It is something." Peter sounded a bit distracted as he scanned the readouts. Then he grunted either in confirmation or disgust. It was hard to tell. "Ah. 'Spear of Harkonner'. Figures."

"Harkonner?" Sora asked carefully. The arms manufacturing clan was big in Grineer society, such as it was. Grineer lived by the motto that 'Might made Right' and then Harkonner clan always ended that saying with 'and bring a bigger gun!' They were arms merchants on par with the Corpus, if nowhere near as technologically inclined. Many in the solar system considered Grineer tech to be trash, but it generally _worked_ in any and all environments. The same could not be said for Corpus tech, much to their chagrin.

"Yeah." Now disgust rang clearly in Peter's tone. "Knew they would do something to protect their investment, but _this_? Sheesh. Bunch of maggots." He nearly spat the last.

"Investment?" Swan asked. Edmund answered her and the young looking human spun, eyeing the Corpus soldier.

"As one of the Empire's most prolific armament dealers, Harkonner gets a massive chunk of the tribute that the Grineer treasure ships bring in. So, this rendezvous was going to be defended no matter what. This is just a _bit_ bigger than expected." The soldier's words were half query. He relaxed as both Peter and Sora nodded. He made a face at Peter. "Please tell me we are not going to frontally assault that monster ship."

"Nope." Peter smiled as Edmund relaxed. Edmund stiffened again as the smile registered. It was feral.

"We are going in the _back_."

* * *

A few minutes later

"Flash is doing well, but she will be off status for the next few days." Anne said with a frown as Peter entered the medical bay. Peter nodded and Anne slumped a bit. "That wasn't Grineer, was it? Who did that to her?"

"Sometimes I truly wonder about humans. How they survived what they can do to each other." Peter was quiet as he peered into a ward where Flash slept fitfully. "You know how brutal Grineer can be." Anne nodded and the captain shook his head. "That said, no. It doesn't seem like what Grineer would do. Beat her? Sure. Break bones? Sure. That? No. Not even Tengus can make something like that happen." He grimaced as Flash's hand moved slowly in her sleep. He did not need to watch, he knew where it was going to go. He turned and marched to where Anne stood, face stony. "She was a pilot for the Corpus. She did something. Maybe smuggling? Maybe something else. Maybe she just told someone to keep their hands to themselves. So they did that to her."

"Turned her into a _pleasure toy_." Anne's face held rage now. The female Grineer Reclaimer who she had once been wouldn't have been concerned at all. _This_ female was livid about what had happened to her crewmate.

"Yeah." Peter's face matched the medic's rage. He liked Flash. She had a hell of a sense of humor when she wasn't out of it. "Touch either of her shoulders and she just shuts down. I knew the moment I did it what would happen. Didn't think, just did it."

"And how long have you been practicing interaction stuff with humans?" Anne asked, her eyes intent. Peter slumped a bit and nodded. "Where did you find her?"

"Rathuum." Peter turned to face the wall. "The prisoner quarters. She was never sent out. She wouldn't have lasted a second in a fight. No..." He shook his head. "No, she never left the quarters. When we found her, she was half starved and more than a bit of a mess. At least she doesn't remember it consciously."

"They _didn't_..." Anne breathed. Peter just nodded and she snarled. "Those _scum!_ One of their _own_?"

"Humans hurt humans for most of their history. Kayla De Thayam doesn't care." Peter grunted. "What animals do on their own between her self-gratification episodes doesn't matter to her. I found Flash there. We took her in, kept her safe. Let her wake up." He smiled a bit in fond memory. "She was more than a little pissed when she regained lucidity." He shook his head. "Can't blame her. Grineer don't do that kind of reproduction thing, so..." He shrugged. "We were safe for her, so she stayed with us. Then we found out she was a pilot and we started laying plans for the future, not just survival."

"So... when they got tired of you lot killing Executors, they let you go?" Anne asked, incredulous.

"It wasn't that easy." Peter allowed, then changed the subject. "We need a pilot. I _can_ , but I am not the best at it and need to stay focused on the job. Sora and Gogre likewise. Flash is out. You have access to the personnel logs. Who else has piloting experience?"

"Hmmm." Anne turned to her console and started tapping keys. "Flash was training several others, but none of them were anywhere near her level of skill." She shook her head. "I can pilot."

"We need you here." Peter's immediate rejoinder brooked no argument so Anne did not bother to try. "No one else?"

"No one listed as beyond 'Competent'." Anne frowned. "One thing... If Edmund _is_ Corpus Special Forces, would _he_ have training how to operate Grineer craft?" Peter smiled at her and she froze. "Um... can you trust him?"

"For hurting the _Grineer?_ " Peter's smile turned downright vicious. "I think we can."

* * *

Less than a hour later

"I knew you lot were crazy the moment I saw you." Edmund's voice was hushed even though there was literally no possibility of sound waves travelling through the vacuum of space around the shuttle. "But _this?_ "

The shuttle was flying into one of the hangar bays of the Fomorian. The humongous ship blotted out the stars as they slid in on the approved path, other Grineer ships of various kinds flitting here and there. Any deviation from standard protocol meant death, either swift or slow and agonizing if captured alive. Edmund had a single plasma grenade on his belt for such an eventuality. He would not be taken and he knew the rest of the team felt the same way and had other such plans. Ten Grineer in Grineer armor with Grineer weapons. Plus one _less_ than enthusiastic human pilot.

"Hey." Gogre's voice was amused where he sat near the exit ramp. "We _resemble_ that remark."

"Yes, you _do_." Edmund did not look to where Peter was working his console. "What do I do if they want to inspect the shuttle or something?"

"Isn't improvising what Special Forces guys like you are supposed to be so good at?" Gogre's instant rejoinder had more than one of the others chuckling.

"Yeah, but I am not going to be able to sneak away with the shuttle in the middle of a open hangar bay." Edmund allowed. "If I try to fight, I am dead. If I try to run, I am dead. If I try to fly away, I am dead." He sighed. "Ah well. Don't get caught or die." He pleaded.

Peter smiled and kicked a panel nearby. Edmund stared as the panel slid aside to show a small space in the wall that had been cleared.

"It has sensor baffling, so if you need to hide this was built." The captain smiled wider as Edmund eyed the space. "Not very big, bit it will protect you from detection. Of course, if we all get killed or caught, all bets are off."

"In that case I would do better to overload the drives and blow as much of the hangar as I can." Edmund agreed. Capture by Grineer wasn't always a death sentence. Humans had survived such. It was never fun or easy.

"Use your discretion." Peter replied as he slid the armored mask into place. His face was not well known. At least, not yet. But it was probably better not to take any chances.

"Funny." Edmund retorted as the shuttle slid into place on the landing grid with only a minor bump. "My bosses never thought I _had_ any discretion."

"Then you will fit in just fine around here." Gogre quipped but then the team was rising.

Edmund cast a look over his shoulder as the team left the shuttle, swaggering as only Grineer could. Then he slid down in the seat, ready to hide or fly as needed. Peter nodded to him minutely as he left the shuttle and closed the hatch. The captain had to hope that the human would manage. Flash would have managed just fine, she was a known quantity. But she was not available. Peter gritted his teeth and followed the huge bulk of Gogre into the super ship.

As before, it was ridiculously easy to get into a Grineer ship. They were clones in armor. They acted as Grineer, so they had to be Grineer, right? None of the electronic defenses had a chance against the tricks that Gogre and Zei had thought up. None of the scanner beams so much as blipped as they passed through them. They had known this. Getting what they wanted and getting _out_ was always going to be harder than getting in and that was before they had found the Fomorian instead of a Galleon in place.

This wasn't going to be totally one sided though. The Grineer had their prize protected. A Tenno would have been able to get in and out reasonably easily, if in a far more messy fashion but no Tenno had _reason_ to go after such a thing. Tenno were dedicated to stopping the Grineer. Their way of fighting was alien to the Grineer. It wasn't something that the clones could adapt to. Tenno could be stopped, sure. It took overwhelming firepower, but the Grineer often had that. The problem was that unlike most normal opponents, Tenno refused to _stay_ dead. Peter himself had fought Tenno, had seen a warfame literally _dismantled_ only to see a flash of light and see the Tenno standing there again as if nothing had happened. That time had been bad. Peter had been one of three wounded survivors from his company of clones. Surviving such had gotten him sent to Tengus. As a reward or punishment? He was never sure.

The ship was a labyrinth on the inside. Peter had no idea how many clones crewed such a ship. Thousands? Tens of thousands? More? He didn't know and really didn't care. Fear was there, but it was suborned in the rage that was growing. A familiar rage. He felt the old patterns come to the fore and strode with the arrogance that had been his hallmark as a Lancer. He hadn't known any better then. Now he did and if anything he was angrier.

"You!" A commanding voice had the team stopping in place. Gogre spun to face a Heavy Gunner. "Come with me!"

The Gunner started off and Gogre, without a moment's hesitation, followed and the team did as well. If a Grineer was giving orders, then said Grineer had the authority to give orders. Disobeying such, even for a second, was punished. The Gunner led them through a series of corridors that seemed oddly familiar. Had Peter even been on a Fomorian? No. he would remember.

Then it clicked. The captain jerked momentarily but continued to march even as he recognized the markings. Grustag. The marks indicated that the Gunner was taking them into an area set aside for the Grustag Three! A lab or a prison. Both. A hellish place that any sane Grineer avoided like the plague. Coming into such a place was a death sentence. The Grustag Three had killed more Grineer than many enemies had. They were uncontrollable raving psychotics. Another of Tengus' _successes_. But the Gunner seemed unconcerned. Was she brain dead? Tricked? Only one way to find out.

Peter was tense as he clenched his Sobek as a heavily armored hatch ahead of them opened and the Gunner led the way into a large room... Peter was hardly the only clone to come to a complete stop as the state of the room registered. The Gunner herself seemed frozen in place.

The room was a lab like the one where Peter had been 'adjusted' by Tengus. He didn't have any idea what the equipment was for and really didn't care. What he cared about was the three figures that lay sprawled ungainly around and the utter devastation that shone on the equipment. The Grustag Three had fallen! From the blood and other things that shone, the good doctor needed to clone them again. A small human form sat in the middle of the room, her head bowed. She wasn't wearing anything but a thin patina of gore. It took no imagination to figure out what had killed the Three.

 _Have you come to play with me?_

The voice wasn't Swan. But it was _close!_ And it was in Peter's head. He acted instantly, leveling his Sobek and firing. The Heavy Gunner had no time to react as her head exploded. The team drew their weapons, but nothing else happened. Peter slapped the door and motioned to Gogre who nodded and set about fuddling the sensors.

"Do you want me to play with you?" Peter asked calmly.

 _You are not like them._ The young voice said, her tone oddly curious. _They were afraid, even the crazy ones were afraid. They just attacked me. Hurt me. You are not afraid. Why?_

"Because I know what you are." Peter holstered his shotgun and knelt down beside the human. No. What _looked_ like a human. She wasn't one. The face that looked up at him was Swan's and one of the other team bit back a gasp. Peter reached out to take the human form's hand. "I am not your enemy. Do you want me to play with you? I can."

 _I do not know what I want. I woke. Here. They hurt me. I hurt them. I remember things, but they make no sense._ The girl stared around the room, her face impassive. _I do not know what to do._

"Can I touch you?" Peter asked. He saw blood flowing onto the floor. The Three hadn't gone down without a fight.

 _Will it hurt? I thought I would be getting hungry again like I was when I woke. I am not._

"No." Peter said with a sigh as he sat and pulled the girl into his lap. He bit back bile as something fell _out_ of her to land with a 'splut'. "We cannot save you. You cannot metabolize our flesh and you are hurt too badly to carry out of here."

 _I am dying._ The girl's mind voice was firm. _Good. This is wrong._ **I** _am wrong._

"No." Peter hugged her gently, careful of her wounds. He was also wary of her teeth, but she was too weak to bite."The ones who did this to you were wrong. We are trying to stop them. But you? All I can do is end your pain."

 _Do it._ The girl asked. _I like you. You feel kind of like me, but not. So angry. So hungry. I... want... It hurts. Please?_ She begged.

Peter's face was set under his helmet as he reached out with slow, careful hands and took hold of her head. A quick, practiced yank and she shuddered and went limp.

 _Thank you._ The final mental caress was kind and gentle. Then it faded. He laid her down gently straightening her limbs. Peter's rage was growing and eh was sure that Gogre was holding onto his own temper by his fingernails.

Of _course_ , that was when the armored hatch opened again and another team of Grineer streamed in. Peter didn't bother talking. He opened fire and Gogre was a bare moment behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Rooster**

The battle was short. Peter's team had come armed for Grineer and as well armored as possible. The Grineer team that had just entered was taken completely by surprise by another group of clones firing at them. But they were Grineer. The only thing they knew was to fight. So they did.

Peter fired his Sobek, claiming a Lancer as the door behind them slid shut. "Gogre!" He called.

"On it!" The engineer replied as fire crisscrossed the room. Hopefully, the engineer could keep the rest of the ship from finding out about this fight. If not? Peter's team had _minutes_ at best to live.

Then it was all fire and fury. Ten pirates. Fifteen Grineer soldiers. It was over in less than a minute and Peter looked around. His heart froze as he saw three wounded and...

He ran to a fallen crewmate. The clone lay still and even before he turned her over, he knew the Ballista would never rise again. He bowed his head and slid a hidden switch, arming the self destruct charges built into her armor. None of his people would allow the Queens to profit. None would surrender or let themselves be taken prisoner and none would let the Reclaimers use their bodies to make more Grineer. The thermite charges built into the armor would burn hot enough to leave no useable material. All of the crew had those. All of the strike team members also had delay and motion sensitive detonators. They had known going in that they would die. That was the whole point of this operation. If the bodies could not be recovered, the Grineer would take them and either throw them into vats to be processed into more Grineer or dissected to try and discover information to use against the crew. None of the crew were willing to let that happen.

"Goodbye Pila." Peter laid a hand on the Ballista's helmet. "I can only hope you take a few more with you."

He smiled in memory of what the hard bitten sniper would have had to say to that. She never used two words when one would suffice and very rarely had managed to finish a sentence without profanity. She had been downright _scary_ in Rathuum. He thought had seen her miss _twice_ in the whole time they had been fighting together.

Peter gave himself a shake and stood up, looking at the wounded. Each waved him off. None of them were hurt badly enough to slow the team down. Right now? That was the priority. It was only a matter of time until the Grineer discovered what had happened her. They had to-

"Boss!" Gogre's sharp words had Peter running to the engineer's side. A hole shone in the mountainous Grineer's armor, but he didn't seem affected.

"Status?" Peter asked tightly.

"This whole area is off the grid. I don't know if Tengus did it or the battle with the Three Losers but this whole area's systems are junk." Gogre said with a frown that was clean even through his closed helmet. "They don't know what is happening in here. That is why they sent the Gunner and then the next group. They don't _know_."

"So they will send another." Peter winced but then nodded. "Everyone take positions!" He barked and the others scurried to obey. "Gogre, you functional?"

"I'll do." Gogre finished what he was doing. "Got the location, Boss. Also found out where they made her." He nodded to the small sad form lying on the floor.

"Gogre." Peter moved to flank the engineer.

"We cannot handle Tyl Regor, Boss. I know that." Gogre seemed to stagger for a moment but caught himself. Peter looked at him and he shook his head. "But we can get the information to someone who _can_."

"Yeah." Peter shook his head. "How bad?" This was an order.

"Internal diagnostics say one lung and fragments tore through a bit on the way to taking out part of the liver." Gogre replied evenly. Peter looked at him. "I am good. Prosthetics will hold me until we get back to the ship."

"Gogre." Peter said quietly. "Can you walk?"

"Whether I can or not, I have to." Gogre replied. "I need... _We_ need to tell Swan about her sisters."

"No more of Tengus' facilities on the ship?" Peter asked as he slapped a patch over the still leaking hole in Gogre's armor, thinking fast.

"No." Gogre replied and then tensed. "Door!" Peter and the others had weapons in hand as the door opened and other squad of Grineer entered. Lancers, Troopers, a couple of Butchers. No towering forms, so no high ranks. Before anyone could move, Peter barked at them.

"Took you long enough!" Peter nearly screamed. "Who is in charge?" The tension that had been rising faded. If there was _one_ thing Grineer knew, it was submitting to authority. Even if said authority was just the loudest voice.

The squad of clones stared at him and then a Commander stepped forward. "Sir?"

"The Grustag Three have fallen and this is hell of a mess. We have lost two squads. Something in here made us fight each other. Probably the same thing happened to the Three. Couldn't have happened to nicer clones." More than a few snorts sounded at that from both groups. The Grustag Three were _not_ liked. Peter said as he strode towards the door. "I need to report. The coms in here are down."

"Yes, sir." The Commander replied, back on firm ground. "Orders were to scout, secure the area and report."

"Do that. Area is secured. I have orders." Peter waved to his team and they formed up on him. He strode out, ignoring the other Grineer. That was expected. If a group of Grineer had orders, they obeyed. Period. The others let them go. After all, it wasn't as if a strange group of clones would just walk in and start skulking around the ship unauthorized. No, such things simply did not happen.

Peter looked at Gogre who nodded and moved to lead the way. He was slower than he had been, but they still made good time. The elevator was where it was supposed to be and the team piled in. Gogre did something and then spoke.

"We are clear for the moment. How long until they move the bodies?" He asked Peter who shrugged.

"Dunno." The Lancer armored Captain replied. "On a regular ship, it would be fairly quick. On this monstrosity? No idea. Hopefully Pila gets a Reclaimer." A hungry growl answered him. "Straight there?"

"Yeah." Gogre replied. "The elevator take us directly to the antechamber. The guards there are Nightwatch, Boss." The elite Nightwatch would be far harder to fool than regular rank and file Grineer. It would probably come to a fight. They had come prepared for such.

"Didn't think it was going to be easy." Peter replied. "Wish we could take this ship." At that, everyone looked at him and he shrugged. "It would be a hell of a flagship. Kind of hard to hide such a monster though."

"You really are getting into this pirate thing, aren't you?" Gogre had a smile in his voice now.

"Hey, if you are going to dream, dream _big_." Peter retorted to general chuckles. Then the elevator dinged. "Time."

They existed the elevator in proper Grineer order, but what greeted their eyes was not a contingent of Grineer Nightwatch elite forces. Well, those dangerous clones were present, an entire platoon of them. But... All lay as they had fallen. They were all _dead_! Something had apparently erupted in their midst, throwing them each and every way.

"What the _hell!_ " Peter moved slowly towards the open door ahead. His team moved to covering positions.

The door ahead was as heavily armored as an ancient bank vault but it hung open. None of the sensor bars shone with activity.

"Trap?" Gogre whispered. Peter nodded. "We need-"

Whatever else the engineer was going to say was cut off in an oath as a 'thud' sounded and another Nightwatch appeared. But this one was no threat. Not hung in midair in some kind of shimmering tentacle thing that seemed to be made of light. The luckless clone slammed into the floor again and again.

"Ah..." Gogre actually swallowed. Peter shook his head and strode forward. "Boss!"

"If he wanted me dead, I would be." Peter said quietly. "Is it just us now?" He wasn't speaking to Gogre! More than one of the others hissed as a figure from nightmare stepped into view from inside the vault. Peter's eyes narrowed, the form was familiar. The Tenno from the Jolly Roger! The Tenno nodded to Peter. "You followed us. No..." Peter paused. "You stowed away on the shuttle, didn't you?" The Tenno inclined it's head. Peter just shook his head, bemused by this. "And you won't say why, will you?"

The ancient warrior shook it's head and then to everyone's amazement, seemed to melt. Peter stared, transfixed, as some kind of fluid seeped into the drain and vanished. The captain gave himself a shake and then blew out a deep breath.

"That is never _not_ going to be creepy." Peter complained. "Gogre! Get what we need. Everyone else, cover him!"

The engineer moved to a console nearby, the team moving into positions that allowed them to cover the elevator. Peter stood silently as Gogre worked, thinking hard.

This made no sense at all. Tenno did not help people. Well, not Grineer. They assisted humans occasionally. There had been episodes that Peter had heard of where Tenno had intervened in struggles between Grineer and Corpus, but their activities made little sense. Some seemed to act as mercenaries, working for whoever paid them the most, which was usually the Corpus. Others seemed to do whatever they wished whenever they wished. Peter had seen a Steel Meridian report about one particular warframe that had been seen fighting for Grineer and then for Corpus on the same world in the same day! It was almost as if some of them were working to prolong the struggles between the tech cult and the clone empire. He was missing something. Something important. He gave himself another shake as Gogre stood away from the controls.

"Got it." Gogre sounded a little dazed and Peter moved to his side. "I am okay."

"No you are not." Peter retorted. "Come on, second part and then back to the shuttle."

"Yeah." The massive engineer was slower now as he led the way back into the elevator. "What about the Tenno, boss?"

"I am not going to worry about it." Peter replied as the doors closed and they started up. "Far as I am concerned, Tenno can take care of themselves. They give me the creeps."

"Me too." Gogre admitted. "Why help us? I mean... That makes no sense to me."

"Me neither." Peter admitted. "Is it what we thought?"

"It is." Gogre admitted. "Boss, if we do this..." He trailed off as Peter looked at him. "I mean... I agree that it needs to be done. But it bothers me."

"It needs to be done." Peter said quietly. "You good for part two?"

"I will manage."

* * *

Ten minutes later

Peter had to admit, Gogre was impressing him yet again. Hurt as the engineer was, he was still keeping up with the team. They had two other engineers on the team, both trained by Gogre, but neither of them was the genius that the mountain of muscle was.

"Done." Gogre said quietly as the team watched the guards in the vault. The guards studiously ignored them. They had every authorization to be present so they were authorized. The guards job was to keep unauthorized persons from the vault, not hassle people who obviously had higher clearances than the rank and files clones.

Peter nodded and started for the door. Of course, that was when the alarm went off. The guards hesitated for just a moment, Peter's team did not.

"Damn!" Peter snapped as the last clone fell. "Gogre?" The engineer was at a console even before the last Regulator was hit by bursts from two Hinds and a Karak. It exploded into shards.

"This is..." Gorge sounded confused. "This makes no sense. I see reports about the data vault we hit first, but they say a Tenno did it. They are also saying that a Tenno is running amok in the barracks area."

"They haven't detected us?" Peter asked, confused. "We have been leaving a broad trail of Grineer bodies behind us, how can they not be detecting us?"

"Are you _complaining_?" Gogre asked half whimsically.

"I do not _like_ mysteries with the crew in danger." Peter said with a snap. "Come on. Even with your spoofing the sensors, they will send a relief for this guard post at some point. We stole enough to cover the other."

"I will say." Gogre had a smile in his voice as the team made their way to the vault entrance. "Five hundred thousand credits split forty seven ways is still a nice chunk of change."

"Forty six with Pila gone and you didn't count the ship's clones." Peter said quietly as they exited the room.

"What do they have to spend money on?" Gogre sounded actually upbeat and Peter eyed him.

"How bad is the bleeding?" The captain asked. Gogre stiffened, but did not slow his pace and the others matched it as the team entered halls teeming with clones. There was nowhere safe to converse, so Gogre just looked at Peter and shook his head once.

It was a very quiet walk back to the hangar. Peter expected traps to spring, troops to appear and open fire, something, some ship's officer demanding authorizations they didn't have, anything. But nothing happened. By the time they had got back to the shuttle, Gogre was limping. He was keeping up, and most wouldn't have seen the minute hesitation in his steps. In Grineer society, the weak perished so any clone learned fast to at least appear strong.

Edmund nodded to Peter as the team settled into place. But then he tensed. "Who did we lose?"

Peter stared at him and then nodded slowly. The human was trying hard to fit in. or he was locked into the mindset of the mission where the team came first.

"We lost Pila." Peter said with a growl. "A squad surprised us. My responsibility."

"Bullcrap, boss." Gogre grunted as the clone sitting next to him worked on his wounds. "Do the best we can, hurt them the most we can. All we can do."

"We have clearance to leave in twenty- Ah shit!" Edmund blanched as red light started flashing all around the hangar.

"That is not an intruder alert." Gogre said softly. Peter glanced at him and he was slumped in his straps. Peter glanced at the readouts and then nodded.

"Yeah." Peter agreed. "That is general quarters, ship action. Someone is attacking them from the outside."

"Who the hell... would..." Edmund swallowed hard as Peter looked at him. "Ah. Um... I don't want to know, do I?"

"We have clearance still?" Peter asked. Edmund nodded. "Take it out then and fly casual." Edmund stared at him and the captain shrugged. "Sorry, old movie quote."

"You are _weird_." Edmund complained as he did as directed. Everyone else snickered as Peter shrugged. It was true. The shuttle slid out of the bay into madness. Space was lit up by bright red beams and myriad small darting forms. "Holy frack."

"How many?" Peter asked as he stared at the Tenno. At least three human sized forms with wings were fighting a horde of Grineer. The Grineer were losing.

"I don't know." Edmund sounded awed as the Tenno swept into groups of Grineer and tore the smaller spacecraft apart. "At least four and they are avoiding us."

" _Avoiding_? That will draw attention!" Peter snapped and Edmund focused on his controls. "Get us out of here!"

"On it." Edmund's voice was sharp as he focused on flying. A com panel lit up and he stared at it and then at Peter. Peter shrugged and keyed it live.

"Shuttle A-18537-BV Kilo, return to hangar." No one spoke and the voice spoke sharper. " Shuttle A-18537-BV Kilo, you will return to hangar or be fired upon." Edmund reached to cut the com but Peter was there first, covering the control. Edmund stared at him and Peter held up a hand. " Shuttle A-18537-BV Kilo! Respond!"

Instead of speaking, Peter made an odd warbling noise. Some kind of crow? A muffled sound like a pain filled snort came from the back of the shuttle.

" Shuttle A-18537-BV Kilo! What is the meaning of this! Respond now, or by the Queens, I will have you flayed!" The other was obviously upset now. Peter made the same noise again. The voice was beyond upset now. "That is not a proper response! Shuttle A-18537-BV Kilo! You will return to hangar this moment and-" Peter made the odd noise a third time and then cut the com.

"Was making them angry a good idea?" Edmund asked.

"They were going to be angry no matter what." Peter replied. "Most high ranking Grineer are rarely anything else. Unless they are hurting someone. Then they are happy."

"If they hit us with one of the big red beams, we won't be very happy." Edmund retorted. "Then again. We likely won't flee a thing."

"They have bigger problems." Gogre's voice was mild now. Peter looked at him and Gogre waved towards the screen. "Those Tenno are attacking it. They cannot destroy it, not on their own. They _can_ damage it."

"Yeah." Edmund admitted as he watched the flitting shapes of the Tenno charging the massive Fomorian. "I heard about Vay Hek's brainstorm, using the Balors to hunt and destroy refurbished Orokin relays. The Tenno stopped them cold. Wasn't sure I believed it." Peter grunted and looked at Gogre who gave him a thumbs up. The clone beside him through looked worried. Edmund shook his head. "Okay, I have to know. What was that sound you made?" Gogre chuckled.

"In the book, 'Peter Pan' by J. M. Barrie,..." The enormous clone said with a smile that was clear even through his armored faceplate. "... the protagonist terrified his enemies with a unique battlecry." The massive engineer chuckled sourly. "The morning call of a male bird from Earth called a rooster. Scared the hell out of his enemies. Works for me even if his enemies _were_ pirates."

Peter smiled and when he did it again, the other clones matched it, shaking the hull of the shuttle.


	12. Chapter 12

**Tick Tock**

Peter watched as Anne worked on Gogre. The ship was underway, having received clearance from the traffic controllers to depart on a previously planned exit. The whole area was nuts after the Tenno attack, so it was not hard at all to leave in the confusion. A ship that was simply following instructions was not odd in any way. The higher ranks wouldn't even question it.

There were other oddities though and he was getting fed up with dancing on other people's strings. Three times, Tenno had appeared in his area of operation. Twice to save his rear end. He wasn't angry. Not really. He reserved his anger for those worthy of it in his own opinion. The Grineer Queens and their subordinates, especially Kela De Thayam were who he was angry with, not some ancient warrior spirits who seemed to show up to pull his team out of trouble. But he couldn't trust them, could he?

"Boss?" Anne's quiet voice tore Peter from his thoughts and he looked up to see her eying him. "You okay?"

"Stressed." Peter replied. "Gogre is needed. He wants an end, but we really need him to pull this off." The captain shook his head. "We all agreed not to knowingly seek death until the plan is done, but..." Peter shook his head. "How bad was it?"

"On any Grineer ship, he would have been tossed into the vats." Anne replied, a bit shaken by Peter's offhand acknowledgement that the entire crew was suicidal. "But I have managed to stop the bleeding." She smiled a little. "It feels good, to save someone I like instead of hurting them. Did you do that to me?"

"Not really." Peter smiled right back. "If a core of kindness hadn't been there, nothing I or Sora did would have made one. We hurt you to bring it out. It was needed, _you_ are needed, so I will not apologize."

"No need for it, Boss." Anne shrugged. "You do what is needed. But now..." She pointed to a bed nearby. "Show me."

"Anne..." Peter protested.

"Don't lie to me, Captain." Anne said with a snarl. "I know you are hurt."

"I took no wounds in the battles aboard the Fomorian." Peter deliberately misinterpreted her words.

"No one will tell me, but I can guess." Anne said flatly. "Tengus did things inside your head to make you who you are. Unnatural things. How bad is the pain?" Peter's look was flatly unfriendly, but Anne just crossed her arms. "Captain, what is my job on this ship?"

"How did you find out?" Peter asked. "I don't think anyone knows."

"I think Sora has guessed." Anne replied, her face softening. "Swan knows. I asked her what it felt like to touch people's minds and she said that it just felt right unless she was talking to you. Then she felt pain from you." Peter winced but Anne just shook her head. "No one else knows."

"Okay." Peter didn't surrender, not quite. More a tactical retreat. "On a scale of one to ten, it is about a six and it has been that way since I met you." He held up a hand as Anne opened her mouth. "The tumor is inoperable and the mass is growing. I have less than a year." He slumped a little. "You are the second person to figure it out. Maybe third if Sora knows."

"I..." Anne seemed to wilt a little. "You have been treating yourself?"

"I was very interested and motivated to find out what Tengus did to my brain." Peter said quietly. He shrugged a little. "As far as I know, this might be intended." Anne's eyes widened but then she nodded slowly.

"Yeah." Anne breathed out the word. "Wouldn't want _more_ unstoppable weapons running around all over." Peter shook his head. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Not for me." Peter replied. "Keep Gogre down as long as you can, and keep his energy down if you can so he doesn't wake up angry and trash the place." Anne made a face and nodded agreement. "Right now? I have an appointment."

"Swan?"

"Swan."

* * *

Ten minutes later

"Captain?" The human called Swan looked confused as she entered the unused cargo hold. The open Orokin cryopod still lay in the middle of it. No one had time or inclination to do anything with it. Her eyes went huge as she saw Peter sitting, unarmored, beside the cryopod. He patted the floor beside him and she sat, a bit tremulous. "You wanted to see me?"

"How you doing?" Peter asked. "How is the hunger?"

"The milk helps." Swan said with a smile. "I am hungry, but not ravenous. I don't _want_ to bite people."

"That is good." Peter smiled in return but his eyes were far away.

"Captain, what is wrong?" Swan asked, concern rising again.

"Regor did not just make you, Swan." Peter said simply. Swan's eyes went huge and then she gulped. "We do not know how many. We met another on the Fomorian. She fought a group of Tengus creations and beat them, but was mortally wounded in the process."

"You were... with her when she died?" Swan said softly. Peter nodded and was taken aback when she threw her arms around him and hugged him. His immediate 'fight' response died a quick death when she gave a tiny sob. "Can anyone stop this?"

"We can't Swan." Peter laid an awkward hand on her shoulder. "We have neither the power nor the time. We lost Pila and this is only going to get harder as they realize that we are operating inside their ranks. If we lose Gogre, it becomes virtually impossible."

"What can I do to help?" Swan asked, giving Peter a squeeze and releasing him.

"I need to know why the Tenno are helping us." Peter said softly. "And you are the only one aboard the Tenno had talked to."

"I haven't seen the Tenno since he broke my collar." Swan said quickly. Peter patted her shoulder.

"I know." Peter reassured her and the girl relaxed a little. "Thing is, he followed us to the Fomorian." Swan's eyes went huge as Peter continued. "He took out a platoon of Nightwatch, elite Grineer who might have been able to stop us, kill us all. He did it to help us." Swan hissed in fear and Peter nodded again. "And then, when we were leaving... More Tenno showed up. Tenno do not help Grineer. I do not know if they were there to attack the Fomorian, to cover our escape or some other reason. I cannot rely on things I do not understand, Swan. I cannot rely on them and if they continue to show up, they will mess up the plan."

"Your plan won't work." Peter held Swan's shoulder as a shimmering form appeared nearby. The human woman in white with the half veiled face, the Oracle, smiled at him and nodded to Swan. "Hello Swan. You may call me Oracle."

"I..." Swan paused and looked at Peter. "You know her."

"We have talked." Peter made a face. "There is much she cannot say. Much she cannot do. I didn't think you could or would talk to me again." He half accused Oracle who nodded just a little.

"Things have changed." Oracle said softly. "What you did, sparing that poor girl's pain, is sending reverberations across the Origin system. People are taking notice, Captain Peter. This is not necessarily a good thing."

"Well, we have already got the Queens _and_ the Corpus after us..." Peter quipped. "Why would anyone else be... worse..." He trailed off as the Tenno from before simply appeared beside the Oracle. The warframe with the odd triple pointed helmet seemed to coalesce from the very air or unmelt if that was such a thing. The Tenno bowed _to Swan_.

"Wha-?" Peter managed to stammer.

"I am about to let you in on a secret, Swan, Peter." Oracle said with a small frown. "A wonderful and _terrible_ secret. We know where Tyl Regor got the genetic material to make you, Swan. He used the same material to make Sora and all of her nintey nine of sisters. That is why you are related. He used the material to make more like you, but he is running out. The cloning process uses up the material."

"I..." Swan pressed close to Peter and he let her. "I am afraid."

"I know. But you are among friends and you cannot begin to understand the allies who are even now arraying themselves to stand with you." The Oracle's visible face was calm, gentle and Swan relaxed. "You are not alone, Swan. There is much that I and the Tenno cannot do. But what we can do, we will. For you, for your sisters."

"Why?" Swan begged. "I am not that important!"

"Yes, you are." Oracle said softly. "You see, the genetic material that was used to create you came from the body of a human woman who was found encased in the ice on the Antarctic continent of Earth. She was buried there before the Orokin Empire came to be."

"Buried?" Swan asked. "She was _dead_?"

"She was." Another form appeared. Another hologram. This one was a young looking woman with dark eyes and hair. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying for some time. But her face... Swan hissed as she saw features that greatly resembled her own. "Hello Swan. My name is Nyx."

"Ah... Hi?" Swan managed. Peter just looked from one to the other, face impassive.

"You have nothing to fear from me, Swan. Nothing at all." Nyx promised. "I am pleased to meet you and proud of you for controlling your hunger." Swan relaxed as Nyx smiled at her. "Any external enemy we can fight or flee from. But when the foes come from within, the battles are much harder."

"Who was I made from?" Swan asked after a moment.

"Her name was Irina." Nyx said softly. "She was my mother's sister. My last living family until she got sick and despite everything we could do, she perished. I failed her." Oracle turned a disapproving face towards Nyx who glowered at the human in white. "I _did_ , Oracle, so don't try to change my mind." Oracle threw her hands up in the arm, her visible face so disgusted that Swan stifled a giggle.

"So the Grineer found this woman buried in the ice." Peter mused. Oracle and Nyx both nodded to him. "And her DNA was pure."

"Unsullied by centuries of cloning." Oracle agreed. "Yeah, they jumped at the chance. Regor took the body and started his madness. Swan's situation is but the latest in a series of horrific things done in the name of science."

"Why was she being sent to Tengus?" Peter asked.

"Because Tengus knows more about warping minds than any other Grineer alive." Nyx's voice held hate now and both Oracle and the corporeal Tenno shifted their stances as if worried. "He would have made you think you were Grineer, Swan. Then cloned you to replicate the weapon that he intended you to be. He nearly did that to another recently. She had a lot of help and she barely remained sane through it. In the end, she did perish, but she is not gone."

"Let's _not_ let Jesse get involved in this." Oracle protested. "Things are complicated _enough_." Nyx and the other both nodded emphatically. Swan and Peter shared a glance of confusion and Oracle relented. "Did you hear about the attempt to access the Orokin computer? The one that got part of the main HQ on Earth nuked?"

"Yeah." Peter winced at that. An entire sector of the central Grineer HQ was now an irradiated mass of rubble. No one knew what had gone wrong, just that it _had_ in a very spectacular fashion.

"That was Jesse." Oracle said softly. Peter stared at her and then the human looked pensive. "Wasn't entirely her fault. She didn't fire the nuke herself, but the _rest_ of it? Yes, she made a _hell_ of a mess."

"Don't make her mad?" Swan half begged, half laughed.

" _No._ " Oracle and Nyx chorused. They looked at each other and Swan stifled another laugh.

"So, what does this mean for Swan?" Peter asked. "If this Irina was related to you, Nyx, then... what?"

"Much as we might wish to, there are limits to what we can do." Nyx said with a frown. "Both physically and legally." Peter eyed her and she shrugged. "It would take days to go through it all. We can if you _want_?" She offered with a sly smile. Peter shook his head emphatically. "Smart clone."

"I try." Peter retorted. "So... What can you do?"

"As of this moment, Tenno are moving on Tyl Regor's labs." Nyx said quietly. Peter stiffened and the hologram nodded. "They won't stop until every scrap of material is either removed or destroyed. The data is useless without the material. Sora and Swan will not have to look over their shoulders for enemies with their own faces."

"Who are you that you can _command_ Tenno?" Peter demanded, only to freeze as Swan laid a hand on his arm. "Swan?"

"I do not think she does." Swan tilted her head as the warframe that hadn't moved much at all nodded a little to her. "And I really do not think she will answer or that you would like the answer if she did tell you." Nyx smiled at Swan and kept her mouth shut. "Can I speak to Sora of this?" The question was to everyone.

"We need to speak to Sora." Nyx said quietly. "We need to explain to both you and her. For what it is worth, Captain, Tenno will not interfere with your vengeance."

"It won't _work_ , Nyx!" Oracle said sharply. "They will die for _nothing_!" Nyx looked at her and then at Peter. Swan had frozen in place, her face stricken. Peter did not react. Oracle stilled and her visible face went slack. "And you know it, don't you?"

"This was never about causing physical damage." Peter replied, face impassive. "The Grineer can absorb any amount of physical damage and keep right on going. Kill a hundred, a thousand, a _million_ clones, they make more. Destroy ten, fifteen, twenty Fomorians, they keep building more. Physical attacks _won't work_."

"So we attack their culture." Swan was nodding. "Make every one of them ask questions?"

"Most of the clones are not intelligent enough to ask such." Peter said with a sigh. "But the ones who _are_ intelligent enough... Oh yeah. We will stress Grineer society on all of its weak spots. We will make some of them question. That will erode the Queens' control despite their brutality. Sooner or later, it will come crashing down." He shook his head. "And no, none of us will live to see it."

"But... why you?" Swan begged, her face set in hard lines now. "Why couldn't Tenno do it?" She demanded of the trio of others.

"Swan, if an outside agent acts against the Grineer, they will form ranks, hold off the enemy no matter how many clones they lose." Peter said reasonably. "It is what they -we- do. If Tenno, Corpus, Infested or whatever attack, the Grineer will hold long enough for the cloning vats to make enough manpower to stem the tide." He held up a hand as Swan made a confused noise. "But what if... What if the basic indoctrination sequences are corrupted? Not much. Just enough. One command line out of thousands."

"I... wait." Swan was thinking hard and the others let her. "The vat make the clones. The indoctrination happens at the same time?" Peter nodded. "I thought that the vats took one clone and made two from him or her."

"They do." Peter made a face of disgust. That part of Grineer society made him sick. Had for years since he had been a 'guest' of Tengus. The strongest of the lines were put into the vats to be replicated. The process was quick, but from what he understood, also very painful. "But the process also encodes certain commands directly into Grineer as they are formed. "'Obey the Queens', 'The Strong take from the Weak', that kind of thing."

"So... what would you add?" Swan said after a moment. "And _how?_ "

"We would add one little line." Peter said with a smile. "Sic Semper Tyrannis. It is not a language that any Grineer knows, so if they have the intelligence and willingness to seek knowledge, they would need to look it up. And _that_ opens the way for those clones to understand the holes in everything they are told. One little breach in the wall of lies and commands and the whole thing can come crumbling down. It will take time, but it will happen. Always liked Sic Semper Tyrannis."

"'Thus always to tyrants'." Nyx translated softly when Swan looked even more confused. The hologram shook her head. "The whole plan _is_ utterly insane. The vat indoctrination algorithms are in the most guarded place in the Empire. You are not going to be able to sneak in or assault it with so few crew."

"Yep." Peter's offhand reply made Swan smile.

"We have been in communication with Cressia Tal." Nyx said with a nod of her own. "She is unhappy with you even not knowing all of your plan." Peter shrugged.

"My clock is ticking louder and louder, Ma'am." Peter replied. "I am not the only one with a time limit, but I am responsible for them. Maybe we _cannot_ do this, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't _try_."

The warframe and the two holograms looked at one another. Then the warframe melted away into nothing. Peter stared after him, but Swan spoke up.

"Where does he go?" The girl asked, tense. She relaxed a little when Nyx smiled at her.

"He will be around. We need to talk to Sora." Nyx gave her incorporeal form a shake. "And yes, the Tenno will aid you as they can, Captain. Do not rely on them though. They are limited in many ways."

"You might was well say 'We', Ma'am." Peter said with a shrug. "'Nyx' is kind of a dead giveaway. I mean, who calls themselves a type of warframe?" Swan stared at him and then gave an 'eep' as Nyx's form was suddenly a warframe with a huge golden crest on her head. Then the human was back and smiling at Swan's expression. Swan just shook her head.

"Just when I think I am beginning to understand things..."


	13. Chapter 13

**Not planned  
**

Peter was shaking his head as he entered the control deck of the Galleon. Everyone was busy working and he just stood for a moment, checking each crewmember off a mental checklist. With Pila gone there were only forty six crew left to accomplish the plan. Would it be enough? He hoped so, but even if it wasn't, some Grineer would hear about this and start to think. Even if only a few started questioning, it would make things more difficult for the Queens and that was always a good thing.

"Captain?" Zei's calm voice brought Peter put of his musing and he turned to look at her. "Problem?"

"Not for us." Peter reassured her. He could see several sets of shoulders loosening as he smiled. "We have determined why Sora and Swan are related. It is complicated and yes, Regor was involved."

"Is Swan going to stay?" Zei asked. "She is dealing well with her hunger."

"She is dealing with it but it won't ever go away." Peter replied evenly. "I haven't asked. I will in a bit. What is our status?"

"98%, Boss. Across the board." Zei said with a hint of pride. Then again, such an achievement was a justifiable source of pride for the small crew. _Very_ few Grineer ships would have even dreamed of such efficiency. They didn't _need_ to be efficient when they had unlimited man power. Er, clone power.

"Good." Peter smiled at Zei and she nodded. " _Very_ good. Everyone, well done." Shoulders straightened just a little as Peter praised the bridge crew. "We are just about ready. I will check on Gogre... and..." He trailed off as Zei made a face. "Oh. He is back at work already?"

"Yeah." Zei's voice was utterly flat.

"And..." Peter did not groan by sheer force of will. "He didn't tell Anne before running off, did he?"

"No." Zei made as mall shrug and Peter sighed. "Boss, he is what he is. She is not happy, but she won't try to stop him either."

"We need to all be on the same page now." Peter frowned slightly. "You all know bits of what I intend, but I haven't told anyone what the plan is. You have followed me blindly and I thank you for it."

"You told us it would hurt the queens and had a very small chance of success." Zei shrugged as she focused back on her work. "But better to die _trying_." A hungry growl swept the bridge as Peter nodded.

"Yes, I know." Peter replied. "I have begged, borrowed, stolen, lied, manipulated and basically made a nuisance of myself to everyone in order to get this plan rolling. I owe you- Oh what _now_?" He demanded as an alarm started to blare. Zei stiffened as she read the scanners. "Zei?"

"Sensors have detected a Void portal." Zei called. "Location." She hissed. " _Swan's quarters!_ "

"Captain! Unidentified humans attacking us!" Sora's voice came over the com. "Another portal! Not-" Her voice cut off in a hiss of static.

Peter felt a familiar rage seal over him as Zei hit the general alarm. He keyed the general com. "All hands! REPEL BOARDERS!"

Zei and the others all had weapons in hand, but he was gone.

* * *

The depths of the ship

Peter ran though the ship. It echoed with the tiny crew preparing for the worst. They were never going to have the personnel to throw unlimited numbers of clones at an enemy, so they had planned accordingly. Some hatches had been permanently sealed, others would allow enemies to enter corridors that could be easily vented to space. Other traps had been designed and put in as time permitted. Gogre was proud of one trap in particular that mixed fire, ice and several arc traps to make a seemingly innocuous corridor into something that even a _Tenno_ would probably have difficulty with. The main corridors were mostly deathtraps. Peter ran through the service ducts, his weapons in hand. His sword and pistol felt like parts of him as always. Some thought the sword he carried was Tenno. It wasn't. He had designed it himself from several blades that he had seen in the various pirate movies he had used as research. The whole idea was to keep the Grineer guessing. If he could make the space borne forces think that a ghostly pirate ship was lurking in the outer system even after the crew did their best to accomplish the plan, then it would lessen the Queen's grip and that was always a good thing.

Peter slid out of the duct near Swan's quarters and into chaos.

Humans in odd pointy helmets were firing at the door to Swan's quarters. His blood ran cold as he saw several Infested forms moving towards the door. But it was odd. They did not move like any Infested he had seen before and there were _no_ small forms. Only Ancients. That did not happen. Ever. Grineer had fought Infested many, many times. Ancients did not appear without smaller forms to absorb enemy fire. The odd mind thing that governed Infested sent smaller forms in first, often overwhelming enemies with sheer weight of numbers. Only of the smaller Chargers, Leapers, Runners and such did not succeed did larger forms appear. And usually it was a mix of others things besides Ancients.

Peter shook his head as he slid behind one of the dozen humans he could see. The female kept her eyes on the door to the room, her Boar shotgun firing steadily. He wanted information, but right now, he needed his ship to be secure more. A quick slice and the human fell, never to rise. None of the others _noticed!_

Something was very wrong here. Sora was firing back, her fire clean and precise. What she used varied. Sometimes she carried a Grakata, other times a Hind, a Gorgon or a Karak. Today, she carried a Buzlok and the light machine gun tore through the Infested that approached the door. He had to smile a bit even as he killed another human. She wasn't the best of shots. When they had first met in Rathuum, she hadn't been the best of shots and she really hadn't gotten much better at distance firing. She didn't need to be. He smiled grimly as he heard it. Her Attarax started growling and an Ancient was yanked off its feet and into the room just before it could pass the threshold. A sound that was hard to define came and Peter grinned wider even as another human died to his blade. As expected the Infested mass came flying out of the room, cleaved cleanly in two. She wasn't in Gogre or Peter's class hand to hand, and it did not matter. He did not want to face her whip. She had _literally_ made Scorpions cry with it more than once before perishing in Kela De Thaym's arena.

He could hear the sounds of running boots. His crew were approaching. This attack would be squelched. The only question was how much it would cost and who had done it. He killed another human and the sound of an explosion came from the room. Everything stopped as a high pitched scream sounded from inside the room. Swan. She seemed to be crying 'No' over and over. The Atterax sounds stopped and Swan's voice cut off.

The still living humans...vanished. The two remaining Ancients likewise. Peter ran to the room, but he knew what he would see. Sora lay against one wall, her armor torn and bloody, her eyes shut. One human who wore the same odd armor lay against another wall. He breathed. Unconscious. A kick and the human would stay that way for a while.

"Sora!" Peter went to his knees beside his fallen second in command. "Smee! Talk to me!"

"Stop calling me that." Sora's voice was minuscule and fading. "I am not a 'Smee'. I wish... I wish I could see the look on the Queen's faces..."

"Sora." Peter did not bother with arguments or platitudes. He had seen death so many times, before Rathuum, during, after it. He knew.

"They took Swan." Sora couldn't speak any louder. Her words came in bits as she fought for breath. "Couldn't stop them. Tried. Didn't think... _Humans,_ Peter. Tenno or Grineer. Or Corpus bots. Didn't think _humans_ would kill me."

"They want us to write her off." Peter said flatly. "They expect me to go do what we have to do and leave Swan to them. Bastards."

"You will do what you have to do, Peter." Sora heaved a little. "You always do. I... Remember your promise." She wasn't pleading. Not quite.

"You will be cremated, nothing to clone. No one will make any more of your sisters from you." Peter said as he laid a hand on Sora's helmet. "You were a good friend. I will remember you."

"Do what you have to do." Sora hissed and then fell silent.

He could hear the commotion as the crew's reaction force arrived and found the mess. He ignored it. He ignored everything except Sora's breathing as it slowed and then stopped. The readouts on her armor went from green to yellow to red. Still he waited. Finally, the readouts went black and he bowed his head.

"Goodbye Sora." Peter said quietly as he rose to look at the surviving human. The man's helmet was cracked from the force of Peter's kick.

"Peter?" Anne's voice was wary. He turned to see her standing in the doorway. Her eyes took in the scene and her face turned downright _ugly_.

"They took Swan." Peter said quietly. "Sora wanted to be cremated. Can you see to it?" Anne nodded as Peter picked up the fallen human. "I have something to do."

"Peter..." Anne trailed off as Peter's expression hit her. His _non_ -expression. "I will." She promised.

Peter hefted the human and left without a backward glance.

* * *

Two hours later

The bridge was very quiet when Peter strode onto it again. No one looked at him as he walked to the intercom and turned it on.

"Crew of the Jolly Roger..." Peter's words were calm and considered but everyone could feel his intensity. "...We have been attacked. Not by the Grineer or the Corpus. By a Syndicate. They call themselves 'New Loka'. The surviving agent did not know much." There was no emphasis on the word 'did', but everyone had known that Peter would not leave the man alive. The attacker had almost certainly been begging for death by the end. Peter was not an amateur at such things. "He was ordered to 'acquire' Swan by any means necessary." The growl that swept the bridge might have scared off an Infested. "He did not know what they intended to do with her. He _did_ know that she was created by Tyl Regor with the DNA of a pureblooded human woman. He knew where they were to rendezvous." He took a deep breath. "We are ready to strike the Queens. But a crew member is dead and another has been taken. I know what I want, but I have no right to dictate to the crew. Not in this. So I put it to the vote. Go after Swan and vengeance for Sora or go to Earth and do what we planned?"

"If we go after Swan, we will likely lose more people." Zei said quietly. "That may mean the difference on Earth." Peter nodded to her. "That said, I want to go after her. She is a good person. I want to say 'kid' but she is not one. By their methods, whatever they want her for cannot be good."

"I want to go after Swan." Anne's voice from the intercom broke the silence. "She did not ask for this. She _chose_ to join us, that means something to me."

"To me too." Gogre's bass rumble was quiet, reflective. "Zei is right. Whatever they want her for cannot be good. Boss, did the agent have any idea?"

"No." Peter replied. "He...supplied some ideas, but they were only hypothesis. The ones who attacked us were not the best of New Loka, I am thinking. They never checked their surroundings. They never saw me attack from behind." A snort sounded from someone listening and he ignored it. "Anyone else?"

"They attacked us." Zei said softly, but rage sang from every pore. "They killed Sora. Where, Boss. Give us a target."

"It is a refurbished Orokin communications Relay." Peter said quietly. "You know what that means."

"Like the Steel Meridian's base?" Zei demanded. Peter nodded. "Oh shit."

The Relays were odd. They had been refurbished by various groups including the Tenno. They were off the main routes that ships took and fairly well hidden. That said, the ones that had been detected were been attacked regularly by Grineer forces. The structure of the ancient structures held up fairly well until the Fomorians came on the scene. Then Tenno descended in swarms to protect them. Peter had never seen the battles that erupted around the relays, but he had seen reports.

 _On_ the relays, violence was strictly forbidden. There were security forces stationed all over and Tenno were never far away. Any hint of violence would end badly for those attempting the violence.

"Yeah." Peter agreed. "The place is neutral. We cannot go in guns blazing. Thing is, we may not have to." He had everyone's attention now. :When I finished the interrogation, I received a very odd communication." Zei stiffened, her eyes flying to the console, but Peter just shook his head. "Not one you can detect, Zei. I was told we would be 'met' at the relay. Not by who or for what. Just that we would be met."

"So someone figured we would be going." Zei mused. "An ambush?"

"Not on the Relay." Peter said dryly enough that a few of the listeners chuckled. "But again, I want to go myself. For Sora. For Swan. But I have no-"

" _Shut it!_ " Zei commanded and Peter stared at her as she turned a glower his way. More than one of the bridge crew were hiding smiles. She hit the intercom. " _Anyone_ for Earth, speak up _now!_ " There was a deafening silence. She turned back to Peter and smiled. A death's head smile. "You have your answer, Captain."

"Far be it from me to get in the way of the crew." Peter said with a smile as Zei started hitting keys to get the huge ship moving. "I will go alone. That is less alarming than if I take a team."

"Hell, if you just took _Gogre_ , that would alarm people." Zei retorted to general mirth.

"Not alone." Another voice had everyone turning. Flash stood with Edmund beside her. "Captain. You need a pilot."

"I may not be in your class, Flash, but I _can_ fly a shuttle." Peter shrugged expressively.

"They won't let a Grineer shuttle land." Flash retorted. "And you know it." Trojan Horses were nothing new and the Grineer loved to try and get troops inside enemy defenses. The fate of said troops meant little to them.

"Then what are we supposed to do? _Wave_ at them?" Peter demanded.

"No." Edmund spoke up and Peter turned his glare on the Corpus soldier. "But I do have some contacts that may be able to assist. Especially if we make it worth their while. Look at it this way, if you really _were_ a pirate, you would need to sell the stolen goods." Peter's glare turned icy but it slid off Edmund like the man was made of grease. "I can get a Corpus design shuttle here on fairly short notice. It will cost, but I can get it here."

"And they will let us fly it?" Peter asked derisively.

"I wasn't planning to _ask_." Edmund said with a sharp grin. Peter eyed him and Flash started to grin as well. "And before you say anything. No. Not the Corpus. We try not to kill anyone and things will be open to negotiation. If we _do_ kill people, it will still be possible, but it will get far more expensive."

"To the Relay then and Edmund?" Peter glared at the human soldier. "Don't screw this up."

"I like Swan too."

Peter had no rejoinder to that.

* * *

Later

"I have done so many crazy things. But this is a bit much even for me." Peter groused as the shuttle flew towards the slight shimmering that Flash insisted denoted the presence of the relay. He couldn't see it. She couldn't but said the instruments showed what they were supposed to.

He placed his pistol and sword in the locker that Edmund had designated. The crew of the shuttle had been more than bit surprised to be pulled into the hangar of a Grineer galleon, but after a few tense minutes, they had acquiesced to Edmund taking the shuttle for a few hours. The cost of it though... Peter was very glad they were not actually pirates. If they continued to spend like this, there was no way they could remain in business. The Perrin Sequence drove a _very_ hard bargain. 700,000 credits for an hour's service of the shuttle, not including the required fees and insurance. Unless he missed his guess though, there was some animosity between the syndicates. When Edmund had mentioned _who_ they were going to see, the Perrin representative on the com had gone stiff. There was something else going on here.

"Perrin won't break a contact." Edmund said softly. "They will weasel as much as they can in the contract and the late fees will add up. So, let's hope this takes less than an hour." He inhaled sharply as the view ahead changed. Where once a tiny shimmering had show, now a huge white spindly thing rose from a saucer shape. Edmund shook his head. "If not for the cloaking, these things would make big fat targets."

"They already do." Peter corrected him and the Corpus soldier looked bashed for a moment. The Grineer had destroyed several relays since they had been refurbished. No one knew how many had died on the destroyed Relays. Flash cursed and Peter tensed. "Flash?"

"They took control. They are landing us." Flash sat back, crossed her arms and put a disgusted expression on her face. There really wasn't anything more to say. Peter moved towards the hatch as the ship latched onto something. Then he tensed. Someone was asking to come aboard! The others looked at him and he shrugged before keyed a 'yes'.

The hatch opened and a human female stepped in. She wore a blue bodysuit. She nodded to the three.

"Captain? My name is Karen and you just stepped into a _shitstorm_."


	14. Chapter 14

**Legalities**

Peter eyed the human looking female in front of him. There was something off about her but he was not sure what it was. She looked like the usual security forces that he had seen on the Relays before. The full body covering left only the nose and mouth visible. But there was something else. The blue bodysuit with the Lotus on the forehead was standard, and... Oh. A pair of ornate hilts stuck out from behind her back. Daggers of some kind with ornate handles. The guards seemed to curl up back towards the points of the things from what little he could see of them. Were those _Lotuses_ on the pommels? Some kind of Tenno daggers? He met the visor of her helmet and then nodded.

"Daggers." Peter said softly. "She said 'Daggers', but there was no context." The woman who called herself Karen inclined her head. "New Loka killed one of my crew and took another."

"Yes." Karen sounded calm, but he was sure it was a facade. There was far more to this human looking form than a simple human. "A number of people were notified as soon as it happened. We are not sure yet how they knew to find her. You are not in any directories that we know of. Using portals in such an assault is unwise without a great deal of reconnaissance. None of your people would have betrayed you."

"I did ask for information on human children. Not that she _is_ one." Peter was getting tired of walking around the truth, but this was not his game. He did not know all of the rules and if this odd human _was_ carrying Tenno daggers? He did _not_ want to know. "What can you tell me? Us." He corrected when Flash coughed.

"New Loka HQ has been locked down tight." Karen said quietly, her gaze sweeping over Flash and Edmund before returning to Peter. "No one in or out. There are a _lot_ of people upset by this. The Syndicates have stepped over the line a few times, but nothing like this. Kidnapping a non-consenting being for whatever is what the _Corpus_ would do. No offense." She said offhand to Edmund who shrugged.

"None taken." Edmund's voice was flat. Peter looked at him and the soldier was tense. Very tense. "Are we secure?" he asked. Karen touched her belt and something gave a metallic screel nearby. He frowned as Karen nodded. "You know how much that is going to cost us?"

"Perrin will be annoyed, but they can kiss my butt." Karen said with a shrug. " _You_ didn't do it and any fees they send to you can be put against the massive balance they owe _us_. Feel free to quote me on that. They know who I am."

"Okay." Peter took a deep breath. "New Loka attacked us and took Swan. My thought is that they believe that we would head for Earth even with this happening. That we would simply leave her to them in the need for vengeance against the Grineer."

"'If you fall behind, you get left behind'." Karen said quietly. Peter stared at her and her expression lightened. "Hey, we know the movies too. The Code may only be guidelines, but some keep to it anyway." Flash actually chuckled at that and Edmund relaxed a little. "That said, we have no _intention_ of leaving her _anywhere_."

"Neither do we." Peter agreed. "So. Plan?"

"New Loka is trying to tip the balance of power." Karen said with a frown. "I am willing to bet they have no _idea_ at all what they just _liberated_."

The last word was heavily sarcastic and Peter had to smile at that. This human or whatever she was had a sense of humor but she also had a sense of right and wrong. Once, Peter would have called that a weakness. Now? He knew better. Outrage could make people do things that normal beings could not. If this Karen had been sent by the one who had contacted him, then she was in the know about a lot of things. Peter decided to put what cards he could on the table.

"I am praying she doesn't feed." Peter said softly. Karen nodded, her visible face grave. "We offered her a chance at an end. A way to strike back at the ones who tried to turn her into a weapon." He shook his head but Karen beat him to the punch.

"And why do you think so many disparate elements are helping you?" Karen's voice was quiet, reflective. "Most of the others would have left you to your own devices. Most _people_ on finding such a monster would have just killed her. You gave her a choice and a chance. That is far more than most would have." Peter shrugged at that. "No, captain. Credit where credit is due. You helped her. We can do no less."

"But the Relays are neutral." Peter pointed out.

"The Relays are, true." Karen agreed. "But when crimes are committed and the guilty flee to such havens, there is recourse. Just not _violent_ recourse." She qualified when Edmund and Flash both tensed. "We will go to the administrator. She is not happy at the moment." Edmund tensed and Karen shook her head. 'She is not really here. She administers all of the Relays, she was so good at it, the rest of the crews begged her to take over. She is oversight and the ultimate authority."

"And the Commander knows about this?" Edmund asked carefully. Peter looked at him and the Corpus soldier actually looked pale. "Ah, you do _not_ want to know."

"He was less than happy about her expanded role but she was the best choice for it." Karen replied calmly. Edmund frowned a bit more but then nodded. "And she cannot be on all of the Relays at once. We _do_ protect her." Karen smirked at Edmund's expression.

"If it is all the same to you, I do _not_ want to anger the Commander." Edmund said flatly. "Please tell me Mercedes is safe!" Peter stared at Edmund and the Corpus soldier actually winced. "You are scary. _He_ is crazy scary."

"Mercedes is safe." Karen reassured the human soldier. "She is nowhere near the Relay." Edmund relaxed a little. "And neither is Vina."

"Okay." Edmund blew out a deep breath and nodded to Peter. "Sorry, Captain. But if the Commander gets involved here... A Tenno raiding party might do less damage." Peter's eyes widened and he turned to look at Karen who shrugged.

"For a human, the Commander is pretty bad ass." Karen agreed. "Let's not get him involved if we can help it. We have enough complications."

"Amen." Edmund's voice was firm.

"Is Swan alive?" Peter asked quietly. "If so, she will be getting hungry."

"We know she is alive. We do not know what state she is in." Karen replied. "We have some contingencies in place. But for right now... How well can you keep your temper?" Peter stared at her and then turned to Flash who raised empty hands in a placating gesture.

"I didn't say anything!" Flash protested as Peter glared at her.

"Good. Don't." Peter turned back to Karen who hadn't moved. "Is there a place these two can stay? I want this shuttle back to the ones we 'borrowed' it from."

"Yes." Karen nodded. "But you are not going to like it." Peter did not react and Karen grimaced slightly. "I know. They offered."

"Boss?" Flash asked as Peter seemed to swell.

"If they touch any of us, all bets are off." Peter's tone might have frozen a tide.

"They won't." Karen said simply. Peter just looked at her and the human shrugged. "They won't." She repeated.

"Captain?" Edmund asked when Flash too, shut down. Peter did not take his eyes from the human, but his tone turned disgusted.

" _ **Steel Meridian**_."

* * *

Ten minutes later

No one was speaking. No one seemed to dare _moving_. The huge weapon that hung from the ceiling was deactivated. None of the armored clones that were scattered around the hall moved as Peter stalked in, followed by Flash and Edmund. Karen was not -quite- with them. She walked beside them. She wasn't a guide, Peter did not need one. Steel Meridian HQ was silent except for the beeps of computers and other assorted machinery. No one commented as Flash and Edmund followed the irate captain and his escort. But then, one did.

"Peter." The captain stopped dead in his track as a large form stepped from a doorway nearby. She wore her customary uniform fatigues in Steel Meridian colors. Her face was as always, her prosthetic eye dominant. Cressa Tal was unhappy. "You look like hell."

"Cressa Tal." Peter walked right up to her and stopped just out of reach. "I am not hungry." He spoke quietly and the area relaxed, just a little. "I am in control."

"Good." The proclaimed leader of the clones who had fled the Grineer Empire to found Steel Meridian shook her head. "This is not what I wanted."

"I know." Peter kept his tone level. "They killed Sora and took Swan." Cressa Tal cursed and looked away. "I know this place is neutral, but..." He broke off as Cressa raised a hand.

"It is." The most infamous Grineer deserter in the Origin system said with a frown. "But there are limits. You and yours are still on our rolls." Flash inhaled from behind Peter. Edmund looked blank, staring from Peter, to Flash to Karen and then back at Peter.

"I did not ask for that." Peter said sharply.

"None of yours did." Cressa Tal's flesh and blood eye was sad as she looked at Peter. "We may have parted in anger, but you are _still_ of us. You came from the same places we did. You saw the same things we did. You took a different path from me and most of us, but you came from the vats and you _changed_. You were Grineer and now you fight the Queens." She took a deep breath and then held out her hand. "Captain."

"We are not who we were." Peter said softly. Cressa Tal shook her head. "You won't try to stop us?"

"I know when to pick my battles." Cressa Tal said simply. "I know when to retreat from one I cannot win. You found your people in Rathuum and they follow you. Others went to you because we could not help them. They are _your_ people. But _you_..." She accented that word. "...are with _us_."

"Cressa..." Peter breathed, eyeing her hand.

"They attacked you, killed the Fury." Cressa Tal did not move, did not lower her hand. "They attacked us."

"Sora hated that name." Flash's voice seemed loud in the silence that permeated the hall. All eyes went to her and Flash dipped her head. "She hated the name 'Fury'. She did not _want_ to be angry."

"No." Cressa Tal said softly. "How did she fall?" She asked Peter who slumped a bit. He took her hand, gave a single shake and let it go. She nodded and retracted it.

"Protecting Swan." He was not prepared for Cressa Tal to hiss and recoil. "Cressa?" The female clone's visible eye was flashing.

"You call me a paladin, a white knight, all that." Cressa Tal said with a grimace. "I am. I believe that no battle is hopeless if you truly believe in the cause. We can make a difference." She gave herself a shake. "We _will_ make a difference. I also believe in justice. New Loka killed one of us. They will pay for that."

"Swan is what is important." Peter retorted. "She is still alive."

"Right." Cressa Tal was many things. Indecisive was _not_ one of them. "Come on." She started for another door and Peter followed. Flash, Edmund and Karen trailed in his wake. "You haven't been to this level." She said as she made her way into a hidden elevator.

"Never wanted to go any deeper." Peter grunted as the group filed in. The doors closed and the elevator started up.

"Still as obstinate as ever." Cressa Tal complained. "Is the girl likely to be a danger?"

"Honestly? I do not know." Peter said with a frown. "We came prepared if she is hungry. I can only hope she hasn't taken any bites out of humans. If she has..."

"She hasn't." Karen interjected. Everyone looked at her but she remained impassive. Peter looked at her and then at the daggers she wore. Cressa Tal followed his gaze and stiffened a little.

"I do not like being a piece in someone else's game." Cressa Tal's voice was flat now.

"Neither do we." Karen's reply was just as flat. "Be glad it is _me_ here and not Nikis."

At that, Cressa Tal's visible face paled. Peter stared at her and then at Karen who did not react. Edmund and Flash both looked confused. None of them knew that name, but if _Cressa Tal_ of all people was scared of him, then he was _not_ a lightweight.

"I am." Cressa Tal said after a moment's silence. "Why would _he-_? No." She corrected herself. "No. I do _not_ want to know!"

"Wise." Karen's tone was a little warmer. "I am a bit more neutral in this, hence why I am here. The Tenno are madder than hell. It is taking a lot of people talking as fast as they can to keep the most impulsive of them in line."

"You don't think of Tenno as being impulsive." Edmund said slowly. No one commented and he made a noise that was half sigh, half groan. "Or, I didn't."

No one spoke as the elevator slowed and stopped. The door opened and Peter stepped forward, flanked by Cressa Tal. The other three followed into a large room. No. It wasn't large, but the holograms that covered every surface made it seem that way. There was one piece of furniture in the room , a desk. Behind it a human woman with dark hair sat, her face grave. No. Peter revised the evaluation. She wasn't really there. It was a _very_ realistic hologram.

"Vina." Edmund's tone was half awed.

"Lieutenant Commander." The woman nodded to the Corpus soldier. "You look better than I expected, hanging around a bunch of scurvy pirates." Was that a joke? It _was!_

"What can I say?" Edmund held up both hands in a helpless gesture and shrugged. "Yo ho!"

"No wenching on my station." Vina said with a grin that faded as she looked at Peter. "Captain."

"Administrator."

"New Loka has stepped over the line several times in recent months." The holographic woman said with a frown. "Karen?"

"My duty to them is done." Karen said quietly. "I will not let them indoctrinate me further and they will not trust me unless I do. So, I am going back to my other duties." Peter glanced at her and then at the administrator.

"Karen was keeping an eye on them for a number of concerned parties." The administrator said with a nod. "This is not the first time they have stepped in it, but this may very well be the _last_. The _only_ upside is that they have not hurt the girl in question."

"Yet." Peter's soft word brought attention back to him.

"Agreed." Vina nodded to him. "We need to keep that from happening. I am calling their representative to the office. She is being escorted. No matter what provocation she gives, do not react." This was a warning. Peter grunted and Cressa Tal shrugged when Vina looked at her.

"That is about the best we can expect from him." The Steel Meridian leader said with a somewhat strained grin. "Socially adept, he is _not_." Peter did not react as the administrator looked at him.

"Captain. You are in the right here." The woman behind the desk said quietly. "Offer no violence and it will come out right."

Peter looked from her to Cressa Tal who nodded. Peter made a face, but nodded back and folded his arms to wait. They did not wait long. The elevator dinged and Peter glanced- He froze. The human woman in the odd helmet with the odd visor looked worried. _The Banshee warframe walking beside her_ was not easy to read but from the posture? The Tenno was not happy.

"Administrator? We are quite busy. What is the meaning of this?" The woman said in a tone that elsewhere might have been considered haughty. Not here. Not now. She did not give her name and Peter's eyes narrowed. Vina did not say her name either. An insult? Had to be. But to who?

"You and your people messed up." Vina said quietly. "The ship you attacked was not a Grineer vessel."

"I have no knowledge of field operations-" The woman started only to cut herself off as Vina raised a hand.

"The field operatives dropped a person in your lap and vanished." Vina said slowly. The other stiffened."She looks like a child, but she is not. She doesn't talk like one. How many of your guards has she hurt?"

"I do not know what you are speaking of." The woman said flatly. "I was told that you had information and this one..." She glared at the warframe that stood behind her. "...attached itself to my side as soon as I left the embassy."

"I do have information." Vina said flatly. "That being is not your property. She is to be handed over. Now. Without harm done to her."

"I do not know what you are talking about." The newcomer said with a snarl. "We have no children in our midst." At that, Vina went very still. Peter and the others did not know what was going on, but when Vina tensed, so did they.

"She is not a child." Vina said slowly. "She looks like one. She is a weapon designed by a mad Grineer to _kill humans_."

"By eating them." Peter said into the sudden silence. The blustering woman swallowed hard. "You have no idea what she is. I do."

"A Grineer?" She scoffed. "What do _you_ know?"

"I know that if you let her, she will kill every last one of you." Peter said softly.

"Because you killed her sister."


	15. Chapter 15

**Not so smart**

"And I am to take a Grineer's word for that?" The New Loka representative demanded of Vina who sat impassive.

"To be Grineer, he would have to obey the Queens. Revere them." Cressa Tal said quietly. "He doesn't. I speak from experience when I say that angering him is a bad idea and you _have_." She crossed her arms and shook her head. "Our organizations may not see eye to eye on a lot, but angering someone like Peter for no gain is a _bad_ idea."

Peter did not take his eyes from the New Loka representative who eyed him right back.

"I do not know what you were told." Vina said when she was sure Cressa Tal was done. "The human who calls herself Swan was made by the Grineer scientist Tyl Regor. She was being sent to the nutjob Tengus when the ship she was on was taken by Peter's band. She woke and they gave her a place aboard."

"A human _child_ has no place on a Grineer ship!" The New Loka woman said savagely.

"Swan is not a child." Peter's words were slow and careful. "She is not Grineer and she is not entirely human. She was made by Tyl Regor for an evil purpose. We gave her a place. We gave her a new purpose. We found out some things about her and now? Your soldiers killed someone who was related to her. The _only_ living person we have found who was." At that, the woman froze but Peter was not done. "I don't really know how a human would respond to such. But _I_ would be angry." He shook his head. "I am angry. Sora was a good friend. Give us Swan and this ends. It is not what I want, but my wants are meaningless. The crew wants her back. She is one of us."

"I... I cannot. " The New Loka woman said slowly. "Her DNA is pure." At that, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet. The woman raised empty hands. "She is a godsend! We can rebuild with her as the foundation."

"SHE IS NOT YOURS!" Peter snapped and then retreated a step. Cressa Tal moved to stand between him and the others and he nodded thanks to her. "She is... She is like me. You have no idea... I can't... Cressa! Tell them!"

"Are you sure, Peter?" Cressa Tal asked, worried. Peter nodded jerkily. She took a deep breath and spoke, not taking her eyes off Peter. "Peter is the only _clone_ survivor of a horrific experiment by Doctor Tengus that was designed to make living weapons out of Grineer. Grineer clones have always been tools. Things to be used and thrown away. But Regor and Tengus wanted more." At those names, Karen tensed, her hands going to her dagger hilts. They fell away as Vina looked at her and she shrugged. Cressa nodded and continued. "There will never be a reckoning of how many clones those two have used up in their chase of the perfect weapons. Many Grineer are next to mindless, just brainless things to be used and thrown away." She looked away, her tone sick now. "But not all. Some of them do develop minds of their own and sometimes those minds are not burnt out in experiments or destroyed by the training or warped into mockeries of themselves by the society. Peter was an experiment that failed. He wasn't controllable in the way that Regor and Tengus wanted."

"I won't eat humans." Peter said into the utter silence that fell. "They wanted me to and I _won't_." The New Loka woman had a hand over her mouth and her visible face had a greenish tint.

"They sent him to die in Rathuum." Cressa Tal said softly. "And the Executors _couldn't_ _**kill**_ him." She smiled a little sadly. "He made a _hell_ of a mess of them and their slaves. The name 'Pieter Garga' _still_ makes some of them wet themselves to this _day_. Eventually even that dumb bitch De Thayam decided it wasn't worth keeping him around. She tried to space him and he _absconded_ with half a hundred prisoners. His crew killed several executors and about a company of clones before they _left_." Edmund's eyes were huge. He looked at Flash who nodded with a grim smile. Cressa Tal's shoulders slumped. "He came to us. We were wary, but he proved his dedication. Then... everything changed." She held out a hand to Peter who ignored it. "I wanted to help him. I still do and he won't let me."

"You cannot save me, Cressa Tal." Peter growled.

"I know." Cressa Tal let her hand drop. "I want to, but I have to accept what I cannot change. Swan is like Peter. A terror weapon designed to eat humans. She cannot _metabolize_ any other kind of food."

"But... she wasn't hungry." The New Loka woman said weakly.

"We found a palliative." Peter said softly. "It can stave off the hunger, but it won't _stop_ it. Nothing _can_. If she gets hungry enough, she _will_ feed. She cannot help herself. You cannot save her. No one can."

"But..." The representative looked at Karen and the Banshee who shook their heads in unison.

"We gave her the choice. We wanted to send her away. What we are going to do is insane." Peter said quietly. "And coming from me? That is saying something. We have, at best a one in one thousand chance of success. But there _is_ a chance." He shook his head. "She chose to join us. Then we found out she was related to one of the clones of my crew." The New Loka woman froze and Peter nodded. "The one your goons killed."

"How is that possible?" Her tone was odd. Not quite disbelieving, but close.

"Regor had some ancient genetic material for his experiments. He made a human from it." Peter shrugged. "I am not a geneticist. I do not know how he did it. He did."

"So this... 'Swan'?"

"Is a weapon." Peter finished for the New Loka woman. "Just like me. If she gets angry enough and hungry enough, you won't be able to _hold_ her. Let alone _stop_ her."

"And any genetic samples you might take will be tainted." Karen said softly. All eyes landed on her and she nodded. "Regor's experiments are genetic. We know a bit about them. Her DNA cannot help you."

"I...see." The New Loka woman seemed to deflate. "To have such hope and lose it. Life calls us to hard tests, Karen."

"That it does." Karen agreed. "Matriarch... Please. Let Peter take Swan. It is better for _everyone_."

"I do not like this." The New Loka woman said softly. "But your arguments are persuasive. I will bring her." She started to turn, but paused as Peter raised a hand. "Yes?"

"I better come with you." Peter said softly. "If she is anywhere near as angry as I am, your guards will get hurt if they try to hold her." Her expression tightened and Peter stiffened. "They have already." It wasn't a question. "Has she bitten anyone?"

"No." The woman said, confused. "Why?" Peter and Cressa exchanged a glance and Peter shrugged minutely. "Why?"

"One of the...modifications was a paralytic toxin secreted on the teeth." Peter managed. "It um..." He slumped.

"It let him feed unhindered by prey's struggles. And yes, he was made to consume his prey alive. So was she." Cressa Tal's tone was devoid of pity. Vina and the New Loka woman both inhaled in shock and fear but the others did not react. "Please tell me Regor can't do this again!" She begged Karen who shook her head. "Thank god. Peter..."

"I may be the only one who can stop her, Cressa." Peter said softly. "But then who will stop _me_? Sora is gone. I can't..."

" _I_ will, Peter." Cressa's tone was calm, but her eye was glistening. "I give you my word. I won't let it happen."

"Let what happen?" The masked woman asked slowly. No one spoke and she bristled a bit. "Let _what_ happen?"

"My revenge is against the queens. Anything that helps them is not to be considered." Peter said quietly. "And if I go on a rampage, killing and eating people? The fear would help them." He shook his head. "I won't allow it. You know what to do, Cressa. Don't miss."

"You would kill him?" The New Loka woman demanded of the Steel Meridian leader.

"Yes." Cressa Tal said simply. "I don't want to. But life doesn't care what I want and Peter trusts me to do what is right." Peter looked at her and she scowled. "Wait. You didn't." She groaned as Peter shrugged. Cressa Tal looked at Edmund and Flash whose non-expressions said much. "You two as well? Geez. Nutcases all."

"We had no idea what we were flying into here." Peter said simply. "The crew gave us half a day to get Swan back. Then they leave us and head out to do the mission." Karen and the Banshee shared a glance but neither commented. "Win or lose, we get an end."

"Tell me it is focused." Cressa Tal said with a snarl. "If I authorized you to bring unrestricted explosive devices in here, my organization will suffer."

"Yeah. Focused. Only I go poof if they go off." Peter said quietly. "I was told that was okay. Karen knew." All eyes went to Karen who nodded.

"It is a precaution and a warranted one." Karen said softly. "He understands what the Queens would give to get him or any of his people. Any who fall into their hands..." She looked away. "The less said about their fate the better."

"All of your people are of one mind on that?" The New Loka woman asked softly. Flash, Edmund and Peter nodded. "I see."

"Swan is too, but we did not have time to set up anything special for her. That was why Sora was with her." Peter shook his head. "We need to get to her."

"Now."

* * *

New Loka HQ, five minutes later

As soon as the mismatched group entered the New Loka facility, Peter knew that things had gone pear shaped. The few conversations that had been going died as the woman guided Peter and Cressa Tal past the entryway and into a corridor. Both Flash and Edmund had protested, but the Captain had cut them both off curtly. They were both vulnerable. If Swan lost it, she would feed. Period. Swan liked Flash and Edmund. If she woke form a frenzy to find herself standing over their partially devoured corpses...

Peter eyed the clone walking beside him. New Loka and Steel Meridian were not friends at the best of times. From what he understood about their politics, they were not strictly speaking enemies but they were not allied either. They simply had very different world views. Steel Meridian was dedicated to protecting the helpless and striking at the Grineer every chance they got. New Loka was focused on reclaiming Earth, although why, Peter could not have said. He had been to Earth. He knew what it was like there. He did not think it was possible to recover the planet, barring something cataclysmic removing the Grineer and Infested. Anything that did that much damage would render the planet _completely_ uninhabitable instead of the _mostly_ uninhabitable it was now.

He tensed as a guard ran up to the matriarch leading them.

"Report." The arrogance had returned. Was it an act or was it just her way? Hard to say.

"Ma'am." The guard all but saluted, his visor turning to sweep over Peter and Cressa Tal. "Section three has lost power."

"What?" The matriarch demanded. "The whole _section_?" Peter looked at Cress Tal and shook his head minutely as the guard nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am." The guard said quickly. "We are trying to determine the cause. The circuits are fine. We have teams..." He broke off as Peter coughed loudly. He and the matriarch spun to stare at him. The guard looked thunderous, the matriarch, worried.

"If you have civilians in that area, get them out now." Peter said flatly. "She is loose."

"What?" The matriarch demanded and then swallowed. "How?"

"She was trained to escape confinement." Peter said softly. "You won't be able to hold her. Shooting her will make her angry. Angrier." He corrected grimly.

"The how do we stop her?"

" _You_ don't."

* * *

It was not quite dark. The emergency lighting worked as intended, casting eerie red shadows all around.

Peter disdained stealth. Cressa Tal walking at his side did not seem concerned, but he knew her. She was. She had the weight of the entire Steel Meridian on her shoulders and here she was, fulfilling her word to Peter. She was a good person, even if she drove him completely crazy on occasion. Neither had spoken when the guard had shown them to the closed off section of the embassy.

Every sense was on hyperalert as he walked. The area wasn't that large and the sensors of the Relay had been trained on it. Swan hadn't left the area. Or if she had, she possessed better sensor baffling than Peter did. Anne hadn't found anything like that in her scans, but Peter knew Tengus and Regor. The nutjobs had reconditioned his skin to make it harder for standard sensors to detect him. Swan's modifications hadn't been quite as bad and he prayed that she had been asleep when the butchers had done the changes to her. He hadn't been.

He froze as Cressa Tal held up a hand. She inclined her head to the left and Peter listened. He could heard what had alarmed the other. Sobs. But... There was another voice.

"You do not want to do that, Swan." A soft female voice sounded from nearby. It sounded familiar but Peter was not sure from where. "You know you don't."

"Go away!" Swan's voice was harsh. She had been crying for awhile or screaming. "They killed her! They killed Sora!"

"I know. Swan, easy girl. No one blames you for being upset. But if you do that, there will be no going back." The voice, impossibly, got softer. "I know you are scared. I know you are angry. You have cause. But your captain is coming. He won't leave you. You know this."

"He has a mission." Swan said weakly. "I am not part of it."

"Girl..." The other voice said sadly "He chose to make you part of it. Let her go, Swan. She is not one of the ones who killed Sora. Let her go."

Peter eased forward to a corner and peered around it What he saw made him freeze. Swan knelt in the middle of the corridor, her face near a fallen human. The human wore the uniform of New Loka and from how she had fallen, Swan had bitten her. Another shadow stood nearby. Peter couldn't quite make that one out. Swan wasn't moving, wasn't feeding. Peter waved to Cressa Tal and motioned for her to stay put. She grimaced but nodded. She had little chance against someone like Swan. Peter eased his way around the corner, but his furtive motion was seen. The shadowed form turned a little.

"Here is your captain, girl." Relief sang in her tone. Swan jerked and her eyes came up, her face burning with shame, anger and fear.

"Captain?" Swan's tone combined hope, disbelief, confusion, suspicion and fear.

"Swan." Peter reached into a pocket and pulled out a bulb of fluid. "I brought the milk."

Swan did not waste time. She dropped the human and ran to him. He held the bulb out to her and she took it, drinking quickly. He held her gently as she drank it all down. Without being asked, he handed her another.

"Captain!" Swan managed around the bulb. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to. I swear I didn't mean to!"

"Hey." Peter gave the girl seeming form a shake. "What happened is not your fault. You bit some of them." Swan bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Oh Swan."

"I managed not to take full bites." Swan's tone held disgust now. "I was trying not to. It was... I was..." She was crying and Peter cursed internally as she wilted in his arms.

"I know." He offered her another bulb and she took it gratefully. "Is the milk helping the craving?"

"A little." Swan said softly. "Is it... always like this?" She pleaded. Peter nodded and she gave a small cry of despair. "I can't handle this! I can't!"

"Hey!" Peter made his tone sharp. "None of that. My crew isn't weepy. My crew are strong and daring, the _scourges_ of the _spaceways_." Swan sputtered a laugh on the last of the milk, coughed and then to her chagrin, hiccupped. He patted her shoulder as she fought to keep from doing it again. "It is all right, Swan. You will be all right."

"I will hurt Zei or Flash or..." Swan hiccupped again and she snarled. "Oh, come _on!_ " Another convulsion racked her chest and she slumped as Peter held her. "Captain?" She pleaded.

"We are ready to go, Swan. All we are waiting for is our smallest crew member." Peter said calmly. "We can help you control it for a day. There are ways to do that. After that... it won't matter."

"After that, we will all be dead." Swan hugged Peter tight. "I can't live like this, wondering when I am going to hurt people I care about."

"Me neither." A hiss of disbelief from behind them had Swan jerking in Peter's hands, but he soothed her and she relaxed.

" _That_ is why you left." Cressa Tal's voice was awed. Swan twisted in Peter's arms, trying to see the other but subsided when he gave the girl a squeeze. "Peter, I..."

"You have your duty, Cressa Tal. I have mine." Peter just held Swan as the girl fought tears and hiccups. "Swan, we have a job to do. You good to go?" Swan nodded and Peter smiled as he hefted her and held her against his chest. He turned to the shadowed being which resolved into a female form wearing some kind of huge headdress. "Who are you?"

Peter's eyes went huge as the woman stepped into the light. The Nyx Prime warframe bowed to him and the faceplate retracted. All of the breath left his body as he saw a familiar face. Sora! But not.

"My name is Tiana." The Tenno said softly.

"You knew my sister."


	16. Chapter 16

**Relations**

"Your... sister?" Swan looked and sounded confused. The face inside the warframe smiled at her and then the piece that had opened closed up.

"I showed you three my face because I know I can trust you." Tiana said softly. Peter looked at her, trying hard to keep a look of utter disbelief off his face. She shrugged. "Nothing I said would have had the same impact. I am not Grineer now. I am not the female clone called Cora now. I changed in every way possible. But I _do_ remember. I remember my sisters and the monster who made us all."

"You were Grineer." Cressa Tal's voice was disbelieving. "And now, you are Tenno."

"Believe me when I say that _no one_ was more surprised at this outcome than _I_ was." Tiana said with a small chuckle. "It is not something that happens regularly. I was dying. They gave me a chance. It was _extremely_ unpleasant. But I managed. I remember and _while_ I remember, my sisters live on. They will have revenge on Tyl Regor. I will see it done." Steel sang in her tone now.

"Can you help us?" Swan pleaded. "Me, Peter, everybody?"

"No." Tiana said sadly and she sighed as Swan's face fell. "For a number of reasons. First and foremost, we are not Grineer. I know Peter told you about what will happen if an outside force attacks the Grineer." Peter eyed her and Tiana had a smile in her voice now. "I talked with Nyx before coming here. I wanted to see if Swan needed help. Silly me." Humor sang now and Swan smiled at the Tenno as she drank.

"What would you have done?" Cressa Tal asked. "This is an embassy." The faceplate of the Nyx Prime warframe turned to her and Cressa Tal gulped. "Never mind."

"I would not have left my sister's friend to these fanatics even if she wasn't related. None of these paralyzed humans will remember seeing or hearing me." Tiana said softly. "I am limited in what I can do, far more than most would think. But I do have options that others do not. We should go. I will escort you out. I would prefer you not use my name. It has no power over me, but information is power to many. If they think that they can threaten you, Swan, to gain my compliance in anything, then they will learn the true meaning of regret." Calm, matter of fact, totally sincere and utterly devoid of anything resembling empathy or mercy, Tiana's words stilled all three.

"I know your armor's colors. I have seen you on missions. Is that why you help us?" Cressa Tal asked as she turned to start back the way they had come. Peter hefted Swan and she snuggled closer to him. She finished the milk and he gave her another. She was drinking it slower. "Help Steel Meridian?"

"We choose who we aid." Tiana replied. "We are not slaves. We have the choice. But as in everything, choice has two edges. Some of my compatriots believe in freedom, others in money or power." She shrugged. "We are little different in some ways from human or Grineer. We think. We feel. We act. But when _we_ act, things get messy. So most of us try not to act precipitously." She shrugged. "Most of us. We are coming to the edge of the power outage. I will stop talking now."

"I wouldn't bandy the name about." Peter cautioned Cressa Tal as he carried the still drinking Swan. "We go straight from here to the docking bay."

"We still need to figure out how they knew to find Swan and punish them for killing Sora." Cressa Tal said sharply. Swan made a sad noise and Peter tightened his arms around her until she subsided.

"Sora is dead." Peter retorted. "She won't care. The rest of us have a job to do. If you want to investigate, that is up to you. But we are behind schedule and need to rush a bit to catch up."

"Captain?" The New Loka representative sounded wary as Peter carried Swan out into the main hall. Guards surrounded her, but they all froze on seeing the Nyx Prime warframe that accompanied the pair of clones.

"None of your people are dead. Paralyzed, but not dead." Peter said softly. "No! Stay back!" He warned as the woman took a step forward. She backed up. "Swan had to bite. She is fighting the craving that comes from tasting flesh. I won't stress her more."

"I am sorry." The human said simply Swan looked at her and the woman bowed her head. "I do not know who in the organization attacked you. I will find out. Pure human DNA is impossible to find now. Such a treasure makes people do things that most would find repugnant. Swan, you have my apology."

"You cannot bring back my sister." Swan's cold words had everyone not in armor flinching.

"No." The New Loka woman said sadly. "No, I cannot. All I can offer you is this:..." She knelt."I pray that you find peace, Swan. That you find a way that will allow you to serve as you wish. That will help you fulfill your destiny. I will pray for you and your crew, Captain. You are not what anyone might have expected, but you are all special. I do not know what you intend, but I wish you fortune in it."

Peter looked at Swan who made a face around the milk bulb and nodded. He started for the door, Cressa Tal and Tiana following. No one spoke until they had left the embassy.

"I am sorry, Captain." Swan managed when the finished the bulb. "I didn't know what else to do."

"None of what happened was your fault, Swan." Peter said as he lowered her to her feet. She smiled and held onto his hand. "You did not ask to be the way you are."

"Where is everyone?" Cressa Tal asked, looking around, Peter and Swan did the same and the corridors were empty. "Did you Tenno clear the halls?" Tiana shook her head, remaining silent.

"I bet Vina did." Peter said after a moment's thought. "She strikes me as someone who plans for things." Cressa Tal thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "One thing... Edmund. He is Corpus. Not our crew, but he has been useful."

"Do you want us to hold him?" Cressa Tal asked dubiously. "He is no common Crewman."

"No, he is not." Peter agreed. "I need to have a way to get him off the ship. I am not going to fire him off in a boarding pod while we do what we have to."

"Flash is going." Cressa Tal's words were calm, but held sorrow. Peter nodded. "Can't really blame her. Not after everything. We tried to help her."

"You did." Flash's soft voice had everyone pausing. She and Edmund stood by a door marked 'Hangar'. "Some things cannot be fixed, Cressa Tal. I am one of them."

"YOU ARE NOT A THING!" Swan screamed as she tore herself from Peter's hand and ran to Flash who stared at her, dumbfounded. Swan hugged the pilot tight. "You are _not!_ "

"Oh, Swan." Flash held the girl gently "Neither are you." Peter and Cressa Tal had both tensed, but Tiana had not. Odd. Edmund looked wary of the girl, but not truly afraid. That was either insane bravery or simple insanity.

"If there was a way, would you take it?" Swan demanded of Flash who stared at her. "If there was?"

"Swan, what was done was inside my mind." Flash said gently. "They can't _find_ it to _fix_ it." Swan stared at the pilot, tears falling unmarked. Then she looked at Tiana who hadn't moved. Flash tensed. "Swan..."

"Could you fix it?" Swan asked Tiana. The Nyx shook her head. "Why _not_?"

"Swan." Edmund of all people spoke up. He chose his words carefully. "I have seen the kind of thing that was done to Flash before. Executives have a lot of power and many are quick to use that power to get what they want. Any way they want. The Clergy tries to curb the excesses and succeeds often, but not always. I asked, Swan. I asked my superiors about such things the last communication I sent because I _like_ Flash." Flash's face got pink for a moment but Edmund continued, "The response was 'No'. They have tried to fix such in the past. It is deep, Swan. Such modifications are very deep inside the psyche. The one time they told me about, they killed the woman in question trying to save her. Tenno may have more power or more knowledge..." He looked at Tiana who stood like a statue. "...but in the end, the ones who did it to Flash and others didn't _want_ it correctable. The only cure for such modification is _death_ , Swan."

"I do not want to live like this, Swan." Flash said sharply as Swan opened her mouth. "If I can make a difference, do some good in the process, so much the better. But I cannot live like this."

"I..." Swan hugged Flash tight enough that the pilot gave a grunt. "I know."

"I need those ribs, Swan." Flash said with a grin as Swan released her quickly and backed up. "Swan?"

"I need time. I need something to make me sleep." Swan said slowly. "I am not hungry. But..." Her face was pale as she turned to Peter. 'Captain, can we go home?"

"You will ride with me." Peter promised as Swan walked back to him, taking the hand he held out to her. "And no. It isn't you. It is the programming, Swan. Don't think about it. Think about Gogre, not how Flash smells." Flash looked from Swan to Peter and paled further. Peter nodded. "She had to bite people to escape." Flash's eyes went huge and then they softened in understanding. "Her cravings are strong. I have more milk, but we better get her to Anne quickly."

"We cannot take the shuttle back..." Edmund started and trailed off as the Nyx shook her head. "So what? We bum a ride?" She shook her head again and waved for them to follow. Peter stared at her and then at the others who shared a shrug. He held onto Swan's hand as the girl started off. But what the Nyx led them to wasn't a shuttle!

"Ah..." Flash swallowed hard as she stared at the triangular ship with the two tail fins that hovered silently in the hangar that the Nyx was leading them to. "You cannot be serious."

The Nyx held out her hand to Swan who looked from her to Peter. Peter shrugged and let go of Swan's hand. Swan moved to the Tenno who nodded. A hatch opened on the bottom of the ship, it was sized for one person. The Nyx nodded to Swan and then at the hatch.

"All of us?" Swan asked, worried. The Tenno nodded and Swan smiled. "I... better wait for Peter."

"Swan, if she wanted to hurt you, she would have." Peter said quietly. "And you cannot hurt her." The Tenno nodded. "If she is offering..." The Nyx Prime inclined her head to Peter who smiled. "...I for one will not say 'No'. Tenno ships are fast and sneaky as hell."

"Boss... I..." Flash seemed about to drool over the ship and Edmund elbowed her in the ribs.

"I will stay with Swan. You two stay together." Peter said sharply as he moved towards the ship. "Is the lock big enough for me and Swan?" He asked the Tenno who nodded. "Then I will enter with her. If you trust me."

To his amazement, the Tenno bowed to him. It was shallow, that bow, but it was formal. He took Swan's hand and strode with her into the lock.

The interior was...odd. It was tiny, but far larger than he would have thought possible for such a small ship. There were obvious consoles scattered about the small area behind a large window that looked out into the hangar bay currently. None of those consoles showed any activity and Peter had no desire at all to investigate. He pulled Swan out of the way behind one of the consoles. The girl followed meekly. Too meekly.

"Swan, it is not your fault." Peter said quietly as Flash and Edmund entered the area, followed by the Tenno. The Tenno knelt in front of the window and a 'thrum' sound was heard. Flash gasped as the view through the window changed. It was as if the ship was travelling through a tunnel of some kind. There was something outside, some kind of mist? Energy? Hard to say. Then the tunnel vanished and a starscape replaced it. One star in particular was bright but that star resolved into a shape that grew larger. A familiar shape. A Grineer Galleon, but with a huge black flag painted on the side. A white human skull showed on the flag over a pair of crossed bones.

"That is... big." Swan said, looking at the flag.

"We want the Queens to know who is doing it." Peter replied. "Need more milk?"

"I am good. For now." Swan said with a shudder. "I am scared. I am afraid I will hurt Zei or someone else."

"Swan, we will help you." Peter promised. "Edmund, we cannot take you all the way with us. We will figure out a way to get you off the ship before we go in."

"I know." Edmund reached out to touch Flash's hand. Flash looked at him, her face sad. "The universe does not care what we want. I hope..." He sighed deeply. "I hope you and yours find peace wherever you end up."

"Aw, come off it!" Flash said with a laugh. "Heaven does not want us and the other place is afraid we would take over!" Edmund smiled at her and then froze as she pulled him close and kissed him hard. She released him and looked him over. "I wish things were different. But... You will do. Lieutenant Commander? We have a few hours. Captain? With your permission?" Edmund's eyes went huge and he stood as if afraid to move or speak.

"Captain?" Edmund managed to croak out as Flash held him tight.

"It is _her_ choice, not mine." Peter said offhand as Swan giggled. The human's expression was a mix of terror and bewilderment. "Don't touch her shoulders and you are fine."

"I..." Edmund swallowed hard as Flash nestled up against him. "Flash..."

" _This_ , I choose. For once in my life since the Corpus, I choose my partner." Flash said with a smile. Her hands were moving and Swan looked away as Edmund's face flushed.

A thump sounded and Peter looked at the window. His eyes went large as she saw the hangar bay of the Jolly Roger.

"Do they know we are coming?" Peter asked the Nyx who shook her head. "Oh boy."

"No one is dumb enough to shoot at a Tenno ship, Boss." Flash reassured him. "Might make them mad."

"I will go first." Peter said, holding Swan's hand.

" _We_ will go first." Swan countered and Peter smiled.

* * *

A few minutes later

It was hilarious. No one had seen the Tenno ship approach. No one saw it leave as silently as it had arrived. The sensors hadn't picked up on the fact that one of the hangars had a guest for a few minutes and all of the personnel were authorized. So the first anyone knew that things had changed was when Peter strode into Medical with Swan, Flash and Edmund beside him. Anne turned as the door opened and her mouth fell open.

"Anne!" Swan gave a sharp cry and ran to the medic who reached out to take the girl in gentle hands, holding her as Swan started to cry.

"Swan!" Anne hugged the girl gently. "When did you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago." Peter replied. "And you will never believe _how_ we got back." He sobered. "Swan had to bite some humans to escape their clutches." Anne hissed, but did not recoil. She just held Swan as the child looking human cried.

"Edmund and I will have a report ready in a few hours, Boss." Flash said as she led the bemused looking Corpus soldier towards the door. Peter looked at her and then at Edmund who flushed. Anne noticed the byplay and her face turned speculative. Flash led the way from the bay, whistling a jaunty tune about wenches and beds.

"Is she going to do what I _think_ she is going to do?" Anne asked as she led Swan to a diagnostic bed.

"It is her choice." Peter replied. "I am not stupid enough to deny any of the crew their choices. He knows her trigger and I warned him against it. He knows that if he hurts her, his life will be measured in milliseconds when the crew finds out, so I am not worried." He paused and then grinned. "Well, not for _Flash_. She _might_ just break him."

"Okay..." Anne drawled the syllables out and then shook her head as Swan lay down on the diagnostic bed. "Do you want a sedative, Swan? I have a few you have not acclimatized to yet."

"Please." Swan closed her eyes and her face was set. "I could not let myself sleep there. I am tired. I want to sleep. But I am afraid of what I will dream." Anne patted her hand and then started working controls. "Captain?"

"Rest well, Swan." Peter said as he moved towards the door. "I will warn everyone. You can relax now. We have you."

"How long?" Swan asked as Anne prepared an injection. "I do not know how long I can control these cravings. Even the milk is not helping now." Anne hissed again, but then injected Swan and the girl slumped a bit, then relaxed into sleep.

"I will keep an eye on her." Anne said softly. "And I will put a collar on her. She will feel better if she is restrained."

"Do _not_ turn your back on her." Peter warned. "She cannot control it. She cannot metabolize Grineer flesh and it tastes terrible to her, but that won't stop her if she gets hungry enough. Hell, the _collar_ might not."

"It feels wrong, but... We will do what we can." Anne said quietly as she reached for a restraint collar. "Captain I think we are ready, otherwise."

"Yeah." Peter agreed softly.

"Ready to die trying."


	17. Chapter 17

**Plots and strategems**

"We are in the pipe. Five by five." Zei's calm words were clipped and professional. She hadn't taken Swan's newest disability well when the girl had first returned, but now, she and the rest of the crew were on track again. Sora would be missed for the assault, but for everything else? The engineer nodded once to herself and then turned to face Peter. "Captain? We are on profile to Earth orbit. We are ready."

"Okay." For this, Peter was wearing his 'pirate suit' again. It was essentially a set of heavily modified Grineer Lancer armor. The colors were not the normal Grineer green and brown. _This_ was a flamboyant red and the plates bristled with more than a few strategic additions. A couple of extra hidden weapons, a set of lockpicks for locks both physical and electronic, a few tricks he had picked up here and there from other Grineer plus extra ammunition for his pistol. But what covered his head was new. He hadn't planned to wear the hat. He should have known better. Zei had a marvelous pout and used it like she used all of her weapons. Ruthlessly.

The huge three cornered hat with the long flat thing called a 'feather' was big, cumbersome and got in the way of his vision. But when he had come out of his cabin wearing it, the cheers of the crew had been deafening. No one had admitted who had made it, although he suspected Sora had done it. It was an almost exact copy of a pirate captain's hat from a film called 'Hook'. It was completely impractical and utterly ridiculous. Which was of course, why the crew loved it. His open helmet was completely shadowed underneath it. Everyone would know who he was on seeing him. But that was the idea. He was the Captain. The crew was proud of him and they wanted the Queens to know who was about to slam them where it hurt.

"How long do we have?" Peter asked. "And... Is Edmund away okay?"

"Two hours on the directed profile." Zei smiled as she turned to the side. "As for Edmund? How _was_ he, Flash?" A laugh circled the bridge as Flash made an obscene gesture at the engineer.

"A lady does not kiss and tell, but since I am a _pirate_ , he was just _fine_." The pilot said to general mirth. "His pod disappeared from scan." Flash looked tired, but then again, she had _cause_. She sounded vaguely regretful, but also relaxed for the first time in a while. "Just like he said it would. Hard to believe we are being tracked so closely by so many people. I _hope_ the queens are not watching as closely."

"I have it on good authority that they are not." Peter replied. The others looked at him and he shook his head. The fact that an Oracle had talked to him wasn't a secret. What she had said _was_. "So now, we wait."

"Yeah." Flash said softly. "Boss? Can you tell us now?"

"You lot have been more than patient. More than fair." Peter said quietly. "Shipwide." Zei hit a control and Peter spoke clearly. "Crew of the 'Jolly Roger', our time of revenge is nearly upon us. We all knew coming in that this would be a one way trip. You knew I had a plan. You trusted me not to speak the plan for fear of enemies discovering it. The ship's clones are all unconscious?" He asked Zei who checked a readout and nodded.

"Yes, Sir! Captain sir!" Zei reported in a bright and cheery voice.

"Don't start, Zei." Peter managed a pit upon voice that was answered by a chuckle that reverberated throughout the ship. "You all picked me as the leader because of my idea. I did not want to lead, but you chose me and I have done the best I can. In less than two hours, this ship will be destroyed. You have all done so much, worked so hard to make it possible for us to land somewhere that it isn't possible to land. A cursory glance at the defenses showed them too strong to assault and too complex to spoof even with Gogre's genius. So, we came up with another plan to gain entry into the facility. An unconventional method to be sure."

"It is not every day you crash a _Galleon_ into a _planet_! Maybe we should rename Flash, 'Crash'!" Someone called and Flash smirked. Peter smiled at the byplay.

"Only if you want to be mounted as a _figurehead_ when it happens." Flash said to general mirth. Peter let them get it out of their systems. Everyone was worried. They had cause.

"The ship will be blown to pieces by the defense systems. I cannot guarantee that _any_ of us will make it to the ground." Peter warned. "When we do, you know what we face. This is a Nightwatch _base_. We are _not_ going to be able to sneak in, bluff our way in or impersonate anyone. We will have a fight from the moment we land."

Grineer Nightwatch were very different from rank and file Grineer. Normal Grineer soldiers were about as smart as a box of rocks, the centuries of cloning having taken a toll on their mental capacity. Nightwatch were something else entirely. They were elite in almost every sense of the word. Smarter, better trained, better equipped and far better motivated than even the most fanatical of Grineer soldiers. They were scary. Most of the crew had heard stories. A few, like Peter, had seen them in action. All who had knew this would be a tough fight.

"Boss." Zei hefted her Hind easily. She wasn't a front line combatant normally, but for this? _Everyone_ would fight, including Anne. Zei had spent a great deal of time learning to shoot and while she wasn't elite, she wasn't bad either. "We are with you."

Peter felt something flutter inside his chest. His vital readouts were green, but his emotions were tight. These beings, human and clone alike, had come together for the sole purpose of hurting the Queens. This _would_ hurt them. Even if all the crew did was make a spectacular mess all over the base, it would be impossible for the Queens to cover up completely. Clones _would_ be able to find information on what the Jolly Roger and her crew were about to do. Many -indeed _most_ \- would shrug the crew off as aberrations and traitors, but not _all_ would.

"Right." Peter forced his emotions back again and focused on the task. "Each of you was given an assignment, a team lead to follow. Each team lead was given specific instructions, but no one has seen the whole plan yet. That changes _now_. Zei, no outgoing coms." The engineer nodded once and the bridge hushed as the huge holo of the solar system that normally dominated the circular bridge was replaced by a terrain map. "This is what we know about the base. It isn't much, but we will do what we can with what we have."

"Is that... an island?" Flash asked. Indeed, the green of the map was surrounded by blue on all sides. It was marked 'Oahu', whatever that meant. Whatever language that was had been lost for centuries if not more. Peter nodded. "Nowhere to run."

No one sane took a dip in the oceans of Earth without incredibly heavy armor or a _deathwish_. The oceans were worse than the land in many ways. The life had evolved to suit the environment and it was all fairly nasty, even the bits that were not infected with the Technocyte Virus. Nowhere else in the solar system that Peter knew of gave the Technocyte Virus a run for its money as Earth's oceans did.

"Nope." Peter agreed. "The Nightwatch will have all of their vehicles locked down. They always _do_. Gogre might be able to override those quickly, but he is going to be busy. The rest of the engineers likewise. We two targets to hit. A vehicle depot _here_..." A section of the holo lit up, showing tiny Grineer vehicles of various kinds. "...and a communications facility _here_." Another bit of the map lit up. "Ideally, we will hit them both at once, cripple their response and keep them from reporting the attacks. Both of those are diversions from the _real_ attack which will be a small team led by me and Gogre."

"As usual." Zei's face held a hungry smile now. Peter nodded to her.

"Well, this time, Anne, Swan and you will be along for the ride." Peter smiled as her face lit up with hungry anticipation. "The other teams will do what they can, but we have no idea how many Nightwatch are in the base. We have prepared for this, planned as best as we can for it. Part of me wishes Sora was here. She would have fun storming such a facility."

"She would kill them all and leave nothing for us." Zei retorted. Peter had to smile at that. "One thing. The Tenno?"

"I don't know." Peter admitted. "I haven't seen him since we returned. He may have left. He may not have. Either way, not our problem. We have a mission."

"Let's get it done."

* * *

Two hours later

The Grineer had a huge presence on Earth and its surrounding space. This was the heart of their Empire and their control over same depended greatly on the image of invincibility. That said, they had the numbers to _be_ invincible in many situations that did not involve Tenno. The ancient warriors were game changers in every regard. They could replace losses almost faster than they could lose them. Not quite, but close. The problem with having such numbers however, was that sometimes it was incredibly difficult to maintain control over said numbers. The Queens had an entire city's worth of clones whose sole job was to track movements of ships and groups of soldiers. It still took time for deviations to be noticed and the Jolly Roger actually got within 200 kilometers of Earth's outer atmosphere before the alteration of its flight path was noticed by the Grineer defenses. Give it to the Grineer, the response when the deviation _was_ noticed was quick. The first challenges arrived within seconds. When those were answered, the automated systems went into a bit of a frenzy. Every code checked out. Every form was in the proper place and duly noted. But the ship was not moving as it was supposed to. Indeed, it was accelerating on a collision course with the Earth!

That made the response when it came utterly predictable.

"Whoa." Swan breathed as the ship she had woken on and called home lit up in the distance. Peter had a hand on her shoulder and she smiled as it gave a squeeze. "You told me they would shoot. I wasn't quite sure I believed you."

"If there is _one_ thing Grineer do well, Swan, it is big guns." Flash said from where she was working. Even as heavily stealthed as the boarding torpedo was, the team would take no chances and the six shuttles containing the strike force's parts had split up to draw away from the Jolly Roger before it was even challenged. Swan looked at her but did not distract her. Flash was flying the doomed Galleon via telepresence. At any range, the signals could be detected, which was why the boarding torpedo that the team was in was still close to the ship. Far too close for Anne's peace of mind.

"How are you feeling, Swan?" Anne asked for about the tenth time. Swan looked at her and then at Zei whose face was blank. Swan wore her collar and it bothered the engineer, but the hug that Swan had given Zei had relieved some of the tech specialist's worry.

"I am okay." Swan said with a smile that was only slightly forced. "The sleep helped. The milk helps and the sedative does too. Captain, if I do go off..."

"Not long now, Swan." Gogre's words had every eye turned to where the genius writ large was working to keep the systems that had been crammed into the pod working. Normal Grineer boarding shells had no stealth gear and only minimal life support. These had been extensively refitted to allow for the attack. "We have got your back, until the end crewmate."

It shouldn't have been comforting, such words from a mountain of muscle in armor carrying a weapon designed to blow holes in tanks. It was.

"I know." Swan said softly. 'I just.. Oh my god!" She inhaled as space around the Galleon seemed to go nuts. The ship was fighting! With no one aboard! The cannon were blazing and small craft had launched! "Captain?"

"I... I don't know." Peter admitted as he watched small shapes flitting here and there around the ship. Grineer fighter craft. They were _intercepting_ some of the shots aimed at the ship. "Flash?"

"That is not me!" Flash said sharply. "I had no bandwidth to spare for small craft. Gogre? Zei? The secondary com?"

"That is not in use either." Zei said after a moment of perusing her scanners. "That is..." She paused. "Captain, you better hear this." She keyed a control and signing sounded. The voices were rough, not used to singing at all. But they were clear. Grineer voices!

 _Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul  
Yo ho, heave ho  
There are men whose hearts as black as coal  
Yo ho, heave ho_

And they sailed their ship 'cross the ocean blue  
A bloodthirsty captain and a cutthroat crew.  
It's as dark a tale as was ever told  
Of the lust for treasure and the love of gold...

The music was familiar. The crew had played it before going on their first 'excursion' to acquire more Oxium. The Oxium that was currently being used to power the stealth systems and the telepresence rig that Flash was using to fly the Jolly Roger.

"I think I know where the Tenno is." Swan said slowly as the Jolly Roger moved. Flash cursed and hit her controls, but it seemed that the ship had a mind of it's own. Parts of it were flying off, pieces large enough to screen the pods in their decent, but... "What are you _doing?_ " She pleaded to no one present.

Peter did not expect a response, but he got one. From the reactions of the rest of the small team in the pod, they all heard it.

 _Sorry about this, but you don't need the ship anymore and I will find a use for it. From the time I could remember, I always wanted to be a pirate. Yo ho._ The male voice held humor but it faded. _You have your part to play, young Swan. I have mine. When I woke aboard the ship, it was like a dream come true for me. 'A pirates life for me' and all that. But all dreams must end. They will chase the ship and her crew. And they will learn to_ **fear** _the Jolly Roger before they bring her down. Go to your own destiny untroubled by mine. I will not die this day. But this,_ I _choose. Captain Peter? It was an honor. Make the queens_ **bleed** _. I will draw their attention from your assault._

"I will." Peter promised. "And you? May I know your name?"

 _I am half tempted to say 'Hook'._ The other replied. More than one in the pod chuckled. _But no. My name is Aziz._ _The clones you left behind will serve the ship and they will prey on Grineer shipping as long as they are able. Any who attack it will face their wrath. And mine. I will buy you time and the legend of the Jolly Roger will strike fear into the hearts of Grineer everywhere. If I have my way, there will be a new Flying Dutchman for them to flee from._

A haunted pirate ship with a _Tenno_ captain sailing the spaceways to strike fear into the hearts of Grineer everywhere? Oh, the mind boggled.

"It is appreciated. Fight well, _Captain_ Aziz." Peter bowed his head and the others did likewise. There was no further communication.

The Jolly Roger moved away, her hull torn and rent by the shots that were still pounding into her, but she was fighting _back_. More than one of the defense platforms in the near distance were out of commission now. Then, she wavered and vanished as if she had never been there. But the music continued. Swan started singing with it and moments later, everyone in the pod was singing.

 _... Shiver my timbers, shiver my **sails**  
Dead men tell no __**tales!**_

Swan had a huge grin on her face as the pod started to bounce. It was hitting the atmosphere. Her grin faded as Flash let out a primal cry, half pain, half loss.

"Flash?" Swan asked.

"Pod six just blew up." Flash said sadly. "Now pod four... I... Captain."

"Do your best, Flash." Peter said softly. "I know this isn't a fighter, but you are the best pilot I have ever seen. If we can get under their umbrella, we have a chance. Gogre..." A snarl answered him from the Bombard and Peter cut off whatever he was going to say.

Flash nodded grimly and the group braced themselves as best they could. Such pods were _not_ designed for safety or comfort. Swan reached out to Zei who took her hand. Peter took Swan's other hand. Both Gogre and Flash were working feverishly to-

The impact came without warning. Swan managed half a scream before darkness took her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Gaps**

The feeling was familiar. Pain was an old friend and Peter gratefully greeted that friend. It meant he was still alive and still had a chance at his revenge. He opened his eyes to horror. Whatever had hit the pod had done a significant amount of damage. A gaping hole had been torn in the side of the pod. Through it, he could see... Wait. He wasn't seeing _stars_ or a _planet_ from space. He was seeing greens and browns and he could see a huge tree trunk in the near distance! They were on the ground! With the vegetation instead of black regolith, it was likely they were on Earth.

He levered himself upright and groaned softly as the pain redoubled. His first through was the others. Zei wasn't there. Then again, the side of the pod that was open was situated right next to where she had been working. So, if the breach had happened in orbit -and the impact _had_ \- she had likely been blown out into space. He hoped she never regained consciousness if that was the case. Not a bad way to go, all things considered. Flash lay still at the front of the pod, her neck twisted at an odd angle. Gogre and Swan were gone. Peter shook his head and touched Flash's still helmet. It was a formality with her neck twisted the way it was, but a quick check showed no life signs. It wasn't something he was going to trust to vision after Rathuum and the broken bodies he had seen still bearing the spark of life. But there was no life there now. The broken pilot had finally found her end.

"I hope you find peace, Flash." Peter said simply as he activated the self destructs in Flash's armor. "I _also_ hope you get at least a couple of Grineer and not some feral Kubrow. Farewell, Maureen."

Peter took a deep breath and rose to his feet. It hurt, but the pain faded quickly. The access hatch was bent and twisted, obviously inoperable. No exit that way. However, the rent in the side of the pod was large enough to allow for egress. He was somewhat surprised that there was no sign of Swan. He hoped that she hadn't been blown out into space. Well, _most_ of him did. As ways to die went, unconscious asphyxiation was not nearly the worst. Her existence wasn't a happy one and she-

Peter froze as something very odd impinged on his senses. He stayed where he was, not quite concealed in the hole that gaped in the side of the pod. Movement would draw attention and right now? Attention was the _last_ thing he wanted.

Three forms were striding through the knee high vegetation as if it were inconsequential. He had never seen forms quite like these, but he knew _what_ they were. In shape, one was a Grineer Heavy Gunner. Another a Corpus crewman. Another, a MOA of a type he was unfamiliar with that had a disk on top. _That_ wasn't the problem. One by one or all together, he was confident of his ability to take three to one odds as long as those three were not Tenno. The _problem_ was that all of them were _gold_.

Peter was not sure what 'Corrupted' were. Grineer were told of the Orokin of course. Of the hated golden forms who had made the Grineer originally to do the jobs that none of them wanted to do. Made clones as subhuman _things_ to be used and then thrown away like broken machines. Broken machines that bled, hurt and _hated_.

Peter had never gone into an Orokin ruin. Others that he had talked to had survived such and all of them had stories that had brought fear into the heart of the strongest clone. Physical strength counted for very little when you faced a foe that could _remake_ you into a willing servant from the inside out in a matter of seconds. Some kind of super high tech nanites, Peter presumed, but he had never heard a rational explanation for it. He did have a healthy respect for the power of Orokin Neural sentries as a result.

The mismatched golden trio moved away and Peter stared after them for a moment. Then he shook his head and checked his map. Lo and behold, the pod had crashed on the island that had been their goal. Peter did not move. That made little sense. Even if Flash had managed to stabilize the pod after the impact, doubtful, but possible, the chances of her being able to guide it to the original target were slim to none.

 _Some kind of set up._ Peter mused. _But for who? And why?_

He was not expecting an answer and he did not get one. He gave the patrol of golden forms another minute to get further away and then eased himself from the pod. The sounds were familiar. He had been here before. It had been another life. Before Tengus. Before Rathuum. Before he had been shown the bone deep rot that pervaded Grineer society from the top down. Sure, the Orokin hadn't been the best of people. He bit back a snort as he slid through the underbrush. What little he knew about them gave any Grineer clone a run for his or her money in sheer arrogance and selfishness.

He paused as a familiar sound started in the distance. Gunfire. He listened and then nodded to himself. Whatever those Corrupted were doing here, they were not unopposed. He heard a couple of Karaks, the rapid stuttering bark of a Buzlok and the distinct whump-BOOM! of a Tonkor.

Once, he would have run towards the sound of gunfire, his own weapon ready to smite the enemy. Now? He slid away from the clash, hyperaware of his surroundings. The Nightwatch were fighting someone, that was clear. Who or why wasn't his problem. He needed to get his bearings and find the access point to the lower levels. He wouldn't let the crews' sacrifices be in vain. He didn't think he had much of a chance on his own, but-

A familiar scream brought Peter to a halt. Swan. She was angry. Angry beyond belief. The sound was followed by screams from Grineer and racketing explosions. He knew that sound too. An Ogris. Nightwatch rarely carried those, they were too large and bulky for the special forces missions that they were usually tasked with. Gogre.

Peter did not run. Running would draw attention and such right now would be fatal. He eased up a small rise and peered over the top only to freeze in shock at what he beheld.

Zei was alive. She, Anne, Gogre and Swan were clustered around the base of one of the huge trees that dominated the area. Swan held a Kraken pistol and was firing it steadily. Peter's eyes narrowed. She had only been able to use pistols. On the ship, she had been woefully under strength to handle a long weapon or melee weapon. But the way she was firing bespoke experience. _Far_ more experience than being born in a lab would allow. Some kind of Tenno thing? Maybe. Peter did not like mysteries. Especially in the middle of combat zones.

His team was fighting a small patrol of Nightwatch. Five of the special forces clones had them pinned down while two more moved to flank the defenses, A moment and the pair of clones would have line of sight on the whole group and a couple of grenades would end Zei and Swan for sure. Anne and Gogre would take longer, but the humans would fall. It did not fit anywhere in Peter's plan for them to die here. He needed them, and they needed him. Simple.

Before either of the flanking clones realized _they_ had been flanked, his Marelok had barked twice. Both fell, smoking holes blasted clean through their armor. Two more took near miss from the Ogris and flew away. One to rise, shaking, only to fall to a burst from Zei's Hind. The other would never rise from the three pieces it was in.

"Fall back!" The barked command came from somewhere else and Peter froze, his eyes flashing as the three surviving clones retreated. That was unprecedented. Nightwatch were fanatics, they rarely retreated. This was... Then it clicked. He knew that voice! "Well, well, well."

Peter slowly rose to his feet as the woods around him came alive. Dozens of Nightwatch stood around the small group at the base of their tree. At least fifteen were aiming at him now. He ignored them, stepping forward towards his crew who were staring at him in shock.

"Pieter Garga." The voice was preceded by her bulk appearing nearby. She was clapping. "Always good for a show, Pieter."

"So glad I can make your day, Petrina." Peter said mildly as he strode to where the team was... Yes. It was as he had suspected. All wore Nightwatch restraints. They had been captured and then turned loose to die as prey. Typical Nightwatch. He should know.

"You were one of the best of us." The female Grineer was eyeing him now. "But you were _dead_ in the pod. We scanned you. There were no life signs at all." Curiosity sounded now. "Tengus did that?" Disgust warred with the curiosity.

"Do you really _want_ to know the answer for that, Petrina?" Peter asked mildly as he touched the restraint on Swan's neck and it fell off. "These are mine."

"Oh no." The gunner shook her head. "This is our fun. _We_ caught them fair and square. _We_ get to kill them. Find your own." Every one of the crew was staring at Peter now. Gogre's armored faceplate was impassive. Zei and Swan both looked confused. Anne looked stunned.

"I am not going to kill them, Petrina. I have a job to do and these are needed for it." Peter took Zei's restraints off and nodded to her. He spun to face the assembled red and black armored clones and shook his head. "I am only going to say this the _once_. Get out of my way or _die_ , Petrina." He knew without seeing that Zei would have the other restraints off in seconds.

At that, every clone in the area seemed to freeze. No one seemed to breathe as Peter stepped forward. Many weapons were aimed at him now, but no one seemed willing to fire first.

"What did Tengus do to you?" The Heavy Gunner lowered her Buzlok and raised her faceplate. Four inhalations of breath came from the others behind him as Peter beheld Petrina's face for the first time in a long, long time. His pod sister looked about as good as a Grineer _could_. Which wasn't very good. She had always looked a lot like him. "You went to him willingly."

"Really? I had a _choice_?" Peter demanded. "The Queens commanded. I obeyed. But that... No." Peter shook his head. "You will find a limit someday, Petrina. Maybe today. Maybe some other day. A limit to your strength. If you are _lucky_ , it will kill you."

"Our duty is all we have." Petrina snapped right back. "Our loyalty is all we have. We kill and die for the Queens."

"And they are _not_ loyal to you!" Peter retorted. "And you know it! All of you know that the Queens are not loyal to you! You exist for them to use, abuse and then throw away! That is what Grineer are, be they regular or Nightwatch! Simple, cheap, disposable _things_."

"And your point is?" Petrina demanded coolly.

" _You_ may choose to remain a slave, Petrina." Peter slowly rotated his neck. It made a popping noise and two of the closest clones jerked, but their training held and they did not fire. "I need these."

"Pity." Petrina sounded bored now as she tapped a control. A soft sound was heard behind him. It wasn't a loud detonation, more a pop but Swan let out a horrified wail.

"ZEI NO!" The girl cried. " _I will kill you all_!"

"Not. Yet." Peter's cold words had everything stop. Petrina froze, her hand halfway to touching the control again. "Petrina. If you do that, you and every member of your team will die here. Nightwatch are loyal to each other and the Queens, no one else. How many of yours are willing to die to take what is _mine_?" He holstered his pistol, ignoring the indrawn breath from Gogre. "The Queens did not order this. _This_ is just your idea of fun. Would you like to see _mine_?" He felt the emptiness rise up within him. He embraced it.

"You are good, Pieter." Petrina said slowly. "One of the best. But you are not that good."

"Tell me, Petrina, did you and yours ever watch De Thayam's broadcasts?" A sudden stillness swept the entire area. "You did." It wasn't a question.

"This is not Rathuum, Pieter Garga-." Petrina started, only to be cut off.

"No, Petrina Garga. It is _not_." The voice that erupted from Peter's throat was not his. Or, it was. But he had shoved that self way, way down. It came surging out as he cut the chains that held his darker nature in check. More than one of the Nightwatch recoiled from whatever they saw on Peter's face. "You have taken something from me. Now _I_ will take _everything_ from _you_!"

He charged. The laughter came with him.

* * *

Swan was crying over Zei's still form as Anne worked feverishly to get the implanted explosive out of the young looking human. Nightwatch used the restraints to track their prey in their designated hunting preserves. The bombs were insurance that none of their 'guests' could get away. Swan had woken in custody and expected simply to be executed. She had underestimated Grineer malice. Zei, Anne and Gogre had been brought to same place and given simple weapons to make the hunt a bit more 'fun' for the Nightwatch. The clones had been playing with the crew. None of the wounds that had been inflicted had been lethal and despite the best that Gogre could do, they had been herded to the base of the huge tree -not that Swan had ever seen trees- and there in a small clearing that was soaked with enough red to stain the soil, Swan had expected to die.

But then _Peter_ had appeared! Her heart had soared, but this wasn't the captain she knew. Gogre stood tense beside her as the red garbed form of the captain tore into the Nightwatch. Was it her imagination or were his hands morphing into claws? And... wait. He was invisible! No, he was back, pouncing on a hapless Nightwatch Lancer to savage the clone only to jump off and dart away as other Nigthwatch fired at him. She saw Peter take hits. She saw blood fly from the rapidly moving form, but it did not slow the captain at all!

"Don't move, Swan." Gogre said softly as Anne finished her work and focused on the mountain of muscle. His words jerked as Anne worked. "He has... limited target control... like that." He gave a gasp as Anne pulled a small device form his side and tossed it away with a expression of disgust. "Doc?"

"I can't do it to myself." Anne said sadly as she looked down at Zei. "She was a good shipmate."

"She will be with her family." Swan said with a frown as she looked to where the Nightwatch were retreating now. "We can't stay here. Anne, can you tell me what to do?"

"We move and we become targets." Gogre warned. "We learned that the hard way in Rathuum. If they flee, _some_ will live. If they do not, _all_ will die and he will feed. Only _after_ he feeds will he be safe to approach."

"That was what I was intended to become." Swan hugged herself tight and Anne held her. "What I can still become."

"They didn't finish with you, Swan." Gogre reassured her. "Yes, you are dangerous. So am I. _Neither_ of us is in Peter's class and..." He was in motion before either of the others knew what was happening. Swan raised her pitiful Kraken and Anne her Hind as Gogre fired at the golden Heavy Gunner who had appeared nearby. The pistol and rifle round bounced off the heavy armor. The rocket hit but only cratered the armor. Gogre threw the weapon aside in disgust, they had only given him one magazine worth of rockets. The Gunner staggered, but then slammed the ground at her feet. Swan hit the ground hard to a loud roar. She looked up to see Gogre struggling with the golden Gunner. Her eyes went huge as she saw the mountainous engineer literally pull the Gorgon from the apparition's hands and beat the golden form down with its own weapon. But it was what happened next that had Swan screaming.

"Gogre!" Swan ran to her massive friend as he finished off the golden form. He turned to stare at her only to freeze in shock as she pulled the weapon from his hands. He stared at his hands, which were now tinted golden. Then he stared at Swan. She seemed to wilt. "I... Gogre..."

"You gotta shoot me." Gore said softly. Swan shook her head savagely. "Swan! _You gotta shoot me!_ They didn't get you! They got _me_! I can't hold it! Strength means _nothing_ with these things!"

"Hold." Anne snapped as she stepped close. The Nightwatch hadn't bothered to take her medical gear form her. After all, if the prey lived longer, that was better, no? Swan stilled as Anne's gear flashed and Gogre's _hands_ fell off. "I can fashion crude prosthesis for you."

"Do not bother." Everyone turned to see Petrina with her Buzlok leveled. Swan tensed, but then the clone fell, a steaming hole the back of her armor. Peter jumped down from the slain clone and looked at them.

"Don't _move_." Gogre warned. "Captain..." He pleaded.

A maniacal laugh was his answer as Peter started forward.


	19. Chapter 19

**Fate**

Swan moved without thought.

Before the _thing_ that had been the captain only moments before was halfway to the group, she stood between them.

"Swan!" Anne pleaded.

"Help Gogre." Swan said, not taking her eyes from the captain who had paused on seeing her clearly. "I won't let you hurt them, Captain." Swan kept her tone mild as the maddened clone who had first accepted her for what she was hissed at her. "You do not want that. You want revenge on the Queens, on Tengus, on all the ones who hurt you."

Peter hissed louder at Tengus' name, but he did not move. Was that good or bad? She did not know. She dropped her pistol and held out empty hands. She kept her eyes on him as he stalked first one way and then the other, seeking to go around her. She didn't let him, moving slowly but steadily to keep herself between the captain and his crew.

"Captain, please." Swan said softly. "I know you are hungry, but we are not food." She took a slow, careful step towards the now still form in front of her. She had no chance against him. She had know that before after the easy way he had trounced her on first meeting her, but now? She knew she had even less of a chance. "You are not an animal, Captain Peter. You are better than this. Better than Tengus wanted you to be."

The monster eying her was immobile, just staring at her, head tilted to one side slightly. His odd red coat and hat were soaked with blood and gore and she could smell things coming from him that she could not define and knew she did not want to know what they were or where they had come from.

"We want revenge, Captain. Not to die uselessly here." Swan said with a soft snarl. " _You_ want revenge." She slowly knelt and raised her chin, deliberately baring her throat. Two indrawn breaths behind her were quickly silenced. "You are hungry." Swan said softly. "Feed."

" _You are_ _ **crazy**_." Peter's voice was a horrible rasp. He backed away from her, his hands slowly returning to their normal shape, the horrible claws vanishing. He shook his head savage. " _No!_ " He screamed into the silence that surrounded them. "I _won't! Not a_ _ **human**_ _!_ "

"I know." Swan was crying softly as Peter's face shed its inhuman blankness. "Sora told me. I know, captain. You won't eat a human. Because then Tengus wins and you _won't_ let that happen." She smiled a bit forlornly. "You are better than that scum. Better than he wanted you to be."

"I need... to feed..." Peter managed through gritted teeth.

"No one here can stop you." Swan said quietly. "But there is meat aplenty who are not members of your crew. I am hungry too. But clone tastes terrible." Her smile became a slightly macabre grin as Peter glared at her. "Hey, you told me that and it is true."

"Don't watch." Peter said with a growl. Swan nodded, rising slowly and turning her back on the captain. It was the single hardest thing she remembered doing, turning her back on a more powerful predator. But the others needed her. Peter did not.

She walked back to where Gogre and Anne stood watching, nodding to them even as crunching noises started behind her. They both stared at her as she knelt to retrieve Gogre's rocket launcher. It was very heavy, but she managed to heft it. Firing it would be far more than she was capable of even if she had ammunition.

"Is there anything I can do?" Swan asked, looking at Gogre's wrists.

"Not until Peter is done." Gogre said firmly. "Good news is that there are lot of decent weapons lying around now that I can unlock for our use. Bad news is that there are likely more Corrupted around too."

"Is that what that golden thing was?" Swan asked. Gogre nodded and Swan made a face. "It looked kind of like a Grineer, but it did not act like one."

"Corrupted are taken over by some kind of nanites and-" Anne jerked as a pair of prosthetic hands landed at her feet. Both had red stumps that dripped. She stared at where Peter was busy and then slowly bent down to pick up the hands. She started working on them without another word.

"If there was one of those things, will there be more?" Swan asked. Gogre nodded and she sighed. "At least we made it to the island. Flash wasn't brought in. She didn't make it?"

"No." Gogre sounded sad now. "She managed to land us, but she wasn't belted in. The impact killed her. I don't think she suffered." He offered when Swan choked back a sob. He looked down at Zei's body. "Zei didn't suffer, Swan." He said softly.

"I know they could have made it hurt a lot worse." Swan knelt down beside the fallen human engineer and brushed Zei's helmet gently. "It's just... I don't know _how_ I know that."

"You probably do not want to." Gogre said as Anne moved to his side, gear and prosthetic hand ready. Gogre held out his stumps to her and Anne nodded as she started working. "They had to have trained you while you were being gestated. Such things hurt." Swan thought about that and nodded, but her face was worried. "Problem?"

"If they programmed me..." Swan said after a moment. "What would keep them from programming me to obey?"

"That is probably why they were sending you to Tengus." Anne said as she finished up with one hand and started on the other. Neither looked quite right against Gogre's armor. No one cared.

"I hope so." Swan frowned but then nodded. "So we are on the island. The Nightwatch have to have more personnel here."

"They do." Peter's voice was more normal now and all three turned to see him walking towards them. His entire front was covered in a darker red than his garment. "What is worse is that there will be more of _me_. The good news is that this particular hunting party will have claimed this area and none escaped." He nudged the fallen Petrina with his armored boot. "Bad news is that I am not entirely sure where we are on the island or how long until the others launch their attacks."

"You think any of the others made it?" Swan asked with a gulp.

"Yeah. I do." Peter squatted down beside Zei's corpse and looked at the fallen human for a moment. Then he sighed. "All I have is faith, no actual information. But we launched fifty pods. Some of the others will have gotten through even against Earth's defenses. The question is: 'How many?'." He looked at Swan. "We cannot take her body with us, you know that." Swan nodded. "Do you want to say something?"

"I don't know what to say." Swan said, hugging herself tight. Peter held out a hand that was only slightly streaked with red and she took it.

"We have lost a crewmate. " Peter said softly as he reached out his other hand to touch Zei's helmet again. "Zei had a hard life even before the Grineer caught her. She never stopped fighting. The Grineer took her husband, her son and her unborn daughter." Swan inhaled sharply and Peter nodded. "Yes, that is why she took to you. She knew you were not hers. She didn't _care_."

"If we leave her here, will the Grineer find her before the wildlife does?" Swan asked. Peter shook his head and the girl looking being shook hers. "She wouldn't want that. If there is any chance for her to get revenge even after she is gone, she deserves that."

"She won't care. She is dead." Anne protested as she finished up with Gogre's hands. The mountain nodded thanks to her as he flexed both prosthesis. He held out a hand and Swan handed him the rocket launcher. Peter tossed him a packet of launcher ammunition and he reloaded quickly. "I hope that she was right and wherever she has gone is a better place." Swan looked at her and Anne shrugged. "She was religious. Not sure what kind, never asked. But she believed in an afterlife."

None of the others seemed to know what to say to that.

"Can you get us to our target, Captain?" Swan asked as she picked up her pistol. Then she bent down and hefted Zei's still form onto her shoulders. Everyone stared as she straightened. At that moment, it was perfectly clear that she wasn't human. A human girl wouldn't have been able to lift so much and keep one hand free for her pistol.

"I can." Peter said quietly, not surprised in the slightest by Swan's inhuman show of strength.

"You trained here." Swan's voice was soft but Peter just shrugged. "This is where you were born."

"Decanted, not born." Peter corrected as he took a few steps towards a trail. "But yes."

"This was home."

* * *

The island

The silence was palpable. It was as if the entire area was holding its collective breath. Peter led the way with Gogre behind him. Swan carried her burden easily and Anne brought up the rear, her Hind tracking expertly despite her lack of training. All four of them stiffened at the sound of firing ahead. Peter eased forward, a gore splattered ghost. The dark red of his coat and hat seemed to melt into the foliage as easily as any camouflage might.

A moment later, he waved to them and the others hurried forward, trying to be as quiet as possible. The firing was louder now and Peter motioned them to skirt a tree that would take them to the side of the shooting. Stray bullets whined through the foliage, but Swan ignored them. He led them away from the raging battle for a moment and then held a hand in the air making a circling gesture. The others moved close and he spoke softly.

"I do not know why the Corrupted are here, but there was a sizeable force engaging a Nightwatch team. If the clones hold true to form, they will fight for a bit and then call for backup. Out here, they will not sound a general alarm unless an overwhelming enemy force lands in their midst. They are the best after all, they don't _need_ _**help**_." This last was sarcastic. The captain kept his eyes on the surrounding area and the others did likewise. "Our target is ahead. It is a duct entrance, well hidden and well shielded. When the hide is breached, defenses will activate. When I was here, they had a pair of automated machinegun turrets. I bet they will have upgraded. Gogre..." he handed the engineer a small object. "Code key in case I go down. Get the door open."

"Right." Gogre looked at the key and then at Anne. "I have our firepower. Have you ever fired an Ogris?" He asked. She shook her head with a frown. "It is easy, point, hold the trigger and then release. Don't aim anywhere near good guys or yourself." Peter scoffed at his dry words and Swan had to smile.

"And when I need to _reload_? Or clear a _jam_?" Anne demanded. "No, better I stick with what have. I have practiced with this." She hefted her Hind.

"I will leave... Zei... outside, Captain." Swan said softly as Peter looked at her. "I will arm her vest before I leave her." Peter did not speak and she flushed. "I cannot just drop her in the dirt, Captain!"

"She would not want you getting killed for her, Swan." Anne kept her voice reasonable. "If those turrets go live, our chances of getting in go from slim to none."

"I..." Swan paused and then looked at Gogre. "Can we set Zei with some kind of decoy?" Gogre stared at her and she frowned. "Something to draw fire if the turrets do open up on us? She would like that I think, fooling Grineer away from killing _us_."

""She would." The huge engineer said after a moment, a solemn grin splitting his face. "Captain?"

"She _would_ get a kick out of that. Fooling Grineer always made her smile." Peter agreed. "Okay. We set her down and set a decoy. Then we run for the duct. We get to it fast and get it open. We will cover Gogre while he opens it. When the turrets go live, I will activate the decoy. Get. Inside." He said sharply as everyone nodded ."Don't wait for me. The other defenses are a series of directional mines. If you are outside the duct when they go off, you are splatter."

"What about you?" Swan demanded. Peter glared at her and she glared right back. "Captain..."

"I know the blast patterns. How they were set." Peter said quietly. "I will be right behind you as soon as you get the hatch open. So don't dawdle."

He started off and the others followed. Occasionally, he would move to one side of the trail or another, the crew following almost in his exact footsteps. Then he froze.

"Corrupted!" He hissed and moved to cover. The others tried to do the same, but an inhuman screech sounded as what looked kind of like a Corpus Osprey weaved through the air towards them. It was golden. A blast from Peter's Marelok silenced it but other sounds came from all around. "Run! This way!" he commanded and started off, all three of the others on his heels.

The jungle came alive with laser fire as golden forms darted here and there. The crew ignored all of that, running for their lives. Ahead, a large metal shape reared out of a hillside with two boxy shapes on either side of it. A small clearing had debris of some kind scattered all around, golden debris. Four menacing looking weapons spun to aim as Peter slid into cover.

"They are already live!" Peter called as bullets chattered from the machineguns and tore up where he had been. But he was in motion and the turrets whirred to follow. Gogre covered Swan as the girl cowered behind a massive fallen tree. "Someone has already tried that way."

"Probably a Corrupted!" Gogre called. "The mines?"

"Down, but with the turrets live, no one can get close!" Came the exasperated response. Gogre cursed savagely as he looked at Swan. "Fire your Ogris to clear the mines and the turrets blow you to pieces!"

"Give me Zei." Anne's tone was odd, not a command. Not quite. Resignation mixed with sadness. Swan looked at her and blanched at whatever she saw in the medic's face.

"Anne! No!" Swan said sharply as the medic took hold of the corpse.

"Gogre is needed to open the door." Anne pulled even as Swan held on for dear life. " _You_ and _Peter_ have a _far_ better chance of surviving whatever is inside. I got you here. Don't let it be for nothing!" Anne let go and Swan recoiled for a moment, only to gasp as Anne laid a patch against her exposed neck. "A very short term sedative. A minute, maybe two before you acclimatize, Swan. Gogre, hold her."

"Anne..." Gogre said softly as he took hold of Swan.

"Get to the door and get it _open_." Anne commanded as she grabbed Zei's body and ran. "Key the decoy live!" There was no visible sign, but all four turrets spun from where they had been tracking Peter towards new prey that was now charging across the small clearing.

" **ANNE**!" Swan managed to scream, but it was too late. Anne had thrown Zei's body away even as she ran towards the duct.

Peter had been wrong. The Corrupted hadn't cleared all of the mines. Swan screamed louder as Anne simply vanished in a cloud of blood splattered dust. The mine detonation was far too small to be so devastating. Had she armed her vest? She must have. Other, smaller detonations answered her self immolation, clearing the minefield the only way she could. The turrets whined and aimed towards where Zei's body had fallen, their chattering hesitating before renewing with the same mechanical vigor. One hesitated. It started turning toward Gogre!

Gogre did not hesitate. He hefted Swan and ran towards the duct. Peter was there before either of the others. Swan was crying even as the duct slid open and the Captain snaked inside before it was even fully raised. Gogre jerked but then slapped a hand against the wall and the hatch slid closed.

"One turret on... local control." Gogre managed as he set Swan down. Peter was at his side in an instant. "They know we are here. I am okay. I am okay. It hit the prosthesis." He nodded to one hand which was a mangled mess.

"Anne..." Swan managed through clenched teeth. "Captain! Give me something to _kill!_ "

"We will get our share, Swan." Peter said with a grim nod. "But for right now? Send it." Gogre glanced sharply at Peter who nodded. Gogre pulled a box from his belt and hit a button on it.

"Now we hope they got through enough to make a mess." Peter scooped the crying girl up in his arms and started off, Gogre right behind him.

* * *

Outside

Nightwatch were Grineer elite. They were better trained, better equipped and better motivated than almost any other Grineer. That said, they were not perfect. They had been trained to deal with enemies who fought in specific ways. Like _all_ Grineer, they did _not_ do so well when they faced enemies who did _not_ fight in those specific ways.

The pirate teams attacking the vehicle park had not destroyed the facility. The guards had isolated and then eliminated each group of enemies as they had been discovered. Then they had left the bodies where they had fallen. often underneath or half inside vehicles of various kinds. None of the Grineer in the vehicle park realized that the horribly aimed shots that hadn't hit many Grineer at all hadn't been aimed at _them_ , but at the _fuel tanks_ and _cooling systems_ for the fusion reactors powering the place. By the time a tech team was notified to come take a look at it, the vests of the fallen pirates started activating, turning the whole area into a minefield that couldn't be cleared easily. None of the vehicles would be available for several hours. Enough time.

The com center had it _worse_. None of the Grineer could figure out _why_ the pirates had spent their lives laying tanks and opening them inside the building. At least, until one of the pirate vests sparked and lit off the mix of _fuel air explosive_ that had been the plan all along. Responding Grineer forces later found small pieces of the com center three _kilometers_ away from where it had been. The _less_ said about what it did to the Nightwatch _in_ the building or anywhere _close_ to it, the better.

Those two strikes were the single bloodiest attack that the Nightwatch had ever sustained. They had no prisoners on which to vent their anger.

The Nightwatch would even more infuriated when they discovered that the massive attack had just been a _diversion_.


	20. Chapter 20

**Buried Treasures**

Swan followed Gogre and Peter into darkness. She had no idea at all where she was going. She trusted Peter but after all of the losses and shocks of the day, she was feeling more than a bit punchy. She sipped another bulb of milk that Gogre handed her and her face creased in a frown as she fought her emotions back. Zei had been kind to her. The human engineer hadn't had any _reason_ to be kind except memory of her own kids. Swan wasn't really human, so Zei's kindness took on epic proportions. She heard something odd and then realized that Gogre was humming softly. The tune was familiar and her frown eased as the soft music sounded in the dark ducts.

 _Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul  
Yo ho, heave ho  
There are men whose hearts as black as coal  
Yo ho, heave ho_

It was very soft, that humming and easy covered up by the machinery that shared the ducts with them. Peter nodded to them, but did not join in, obviously he was keeping every sense focused on the job. The song cheered her up though, which was probably Gogre's intention. She knew that the three of them were about to die. Peter and the crew had pulled no punches at all explaining the plan. She just hoped to have a chance to let the rage that was seething inside her loose. Once. Just once.

Swan and Gogre came to a sudden halt when Peter held up a hand. He was intent on something and after a moment, she could hear it. Shooting, screams. She looked at Gogre and they both looked at Peter who shrugged and continued on. He came to a T-junction and waved the others forward.

"Some kind of battle going on." Peter waved in the direction of the now distant firing. "But I only hear Grineer weapons. No shouts of 'Tenno Skuum', so I guess the Corrupted are here in force. Or something." He nodded to the left passage. "That will lead towards the battle." He made a face. "Unfortunately, that is the way we need to go to get to the elevator I know."

"Elevator which is the only way in that isn't a death trap." Gogre said when Swan looked questioning. Peter nodded and she frowned, but nodded as well.

"Through a battle between Nightwatch and golden things that can take control of anyone they touch?" Swan asked, worried. She stared at Gogre's hands and the mountainous engineer nodded.

"There has to be another way in." Swan pleaded. "Can you go invisible and sneak past them?" She asked Peter who shook his head.

"I can only do that when I get furious and then all I want to do is rend, tear and feed. Not necessarily in that order." Peter's voice was matter of fact and Swan appreciated that. "Even then, we need Gogre to get past the final door. My codes will be out of date."

"So... what other ways are there?" Swan challenged. Gogre and Peter looked at each other and she snarled at them. "We go through the battle and we die. Period. For nothing. What other ways?"

"Clone pods are moved from the vat facility to the barracks via a conveyor belt." Gogre said quietly. "Incinerator fields are spaced every ten meters or so and there is no way off the belt from beginning to end, just a tunnel filled with a moving belt filled with clone pods." Swan looked at him and he shook his head. "Armored or no, we hit one of those fields and we fry. The only other way is an air duct that is likely locked down by now."

"Hatches locked and automated defenses." Peter agreed. "Sensor fields that will sound alarms at any breach and Regulators that will be nearly impossible to hack remotely."

"What if... you took a prisoner?" Swan asked, thinking hard. Gogre and Peter both stiffened and Swan continued. "Use me to get in?"

"Prison is on the other side of the base." Peter's instant rejoinder quashed that idea. "No point taking you through there to get to the prison. They would smell a rat instantly."

"Well, we cannot just give up." Swan snapped.

"No." Peter agreed. "You and Gogre get to the elevator, hack it and go down." Swan froze and he nodded. "As soon as they see me, they will know who I am. The Nightwatch will all want the glory of bringing me down. Whatever clone manages such will get massive bragging rights. Maybe even a promotion."

"Captain..." Swan fought to keep her voice level. She shook her head and when she spoke, her words were crisp and clear. "Make them bleed."

"Come with me to the hatch." Peter said softly as he drew his sword. "Give me a minute to get and hold their attention. Then run for the elevator. Do not look back." He went still as Swan stepped forward and threw her arms around him. He smiled down at her as she hugged him tight and then released him. Gogre stepped forward as well, and Peter frowned. "Don't even _think_ about hugging me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Captain." Gogre said with a grin. "Give them hell."

"With pitchforks." Peter promised as he moved forward to a closed hatch. The sounds of battle came from outside and the three looked at one another. Then Peter nodded, tapping the control to rise the hatch. It slid open and he was gone.

Swan stared after him, suddenly bereft as shouts and screams started beyond the hatch. Gogre laid a hand on her shoulder as she shivered a little. She nodded to him and started counting. Exactly a minute after Peter had left the hatch, she eased herself from it. Her caution was not needed. The only witnesses to her and Gogre slipping out were a pair of Nightwatch corpses. Gogre started off and Swan followed, every sense on high alert.

Something was wrong!

Swan wasn't sure what was wrong as Gogre led her to a sealed elevator, just that something was. The battle in the distance raged, shouts, screams and the occasional ricochet coming down the hall. But no Grineer showed themselves. Swan looked at Gogre and even through his closed faceplate, she could tell he was worried too.

The elevator was exactly where Peter had said it would be, but that did nothing to allay Swan's worry. Indeed, her tension ramped up as Gogre worked his magic on the controls. The door chimed and Gogre stepped forward. Nothing happened as he entered the elevator and Swan did the same, her eyes roving everywhere. She jumped a little as the door closed silently and the elevator started down.

"Something is wrong." Swan said quietly. Gogre nodded. "Glad it is not just me."

"Whatever is going to happen will likely happen when the door opens." Gogre's voice was soft even as he worked controls on his suit. "They cannot listen to us at the moment, whoever 'they' are. This is not like Grineer. Get behind me and take this." He handed her a small device. "If I go down, get to the terminal and touch that to the controls. It will do what we planned. Not as elegantly as I would, and it will be detected, which is why I have it set to do a bunch of changes instead of just one. I will go left. You go right. Do not look back."

"'If you fall behind, you get left behind.'" Swan quoted with a feral smile. Gogre clapped her on the shoulder and both held their weapons ready as the elevator continued.

Neither of them had a chance to run as the door opened. A fusillade of bullets tore through the opening door before it was even fully open. A cluster of Nightwatch stood outside, all armed and ready. Gogre grunted as bullets hit his armor. His Ogris whined and a rocket tore from it to land in the midst of the ambush. Clones and parts of clones flew every which way even as the mountain of muscle took a step forward, then another. His Ogris reloaded with a whine as all of the surviving clones in the area targeted him.

"Swan! Go!" The engineer shouted as he sought cover in a corner. But there was nowhere for him to flee from there. It was only a question of how much firepower it would take to pry him out.

The young looking being did not waste time arguing. She bolted. Explosions sounded behind her and more screams. She wasn't sure _where_ to go, but she had to try. Gogre was buying her time and she had to complete the mission.

She ran to a corridor junction and took the first left. When she came to another, she took a right, alternating at random. She could hear sounds of pursuit behind her and-

Wham!

She was on the floor. Nothing hurt, but she couldn't move and she could see red and black armor approaching. She could do nothing as one of them prodded her with a rifle muzzle.

"Stupid base." The clone grunted. "Where did you think _you_ were going?" The voice was Peter! But it wasn't him. "We are Grineer. We are superior. You had no chance."

"She didn't." Something dark and terrible wafted through the corridor on those calm and clear words. Swan couldn't turn her head to see as all of the Grineer in the area suddenly turned their weapons away from her. "I _**do**_."

"Tenno Skuum!" The Grineer who had spoken shouted and opened fire. No. _He_ didn't fire. Swan could only watch in amazement as each and _every_ Grineer in the area were hit by bullets from the being she couldn't see before any of them could fire. On bare moments, nothing lived in the corridor but her.

Swan fought with every fiber of her being to move, to fight, to do something, anything. But her body would not obey her. Her eyes were closing. Then she jerked as hands touched her. She screamed as pain flared, but then it vanished.

"Hang on, darling. I got ya." The male voice was kind as hands lifted her easily and she was being carried. "We don't have long before they go into full lockdown, but you have time."

"I can't move." Swan managed weakly.

"I know." The other was sad now. "They hit you square. I can't stop it, I ain't allowed such. You ain't the horror that others think you are, but you ain't one I can tend either. All I can do is be here. Nyx didn't ask for such, but she never would have. I swear, that woman always had a stick up her butt about the _wrong_ things."

"You... know Nyx?" Swan asked. She didn't hurt, but she was so weak. It should have frightened her. It didn't. Something brushed over her face. Some kind of fabric? It didn't look like any fabric she had ever seen before. Almost more energy than fabric.

"Yeah, darling." The other said softly. "I have known Nyx for a long, long time. What the Grineer did, making you, _really_ pissed her off. The others are scared of her, so they will obey her command to leave you alone to face your fate. Me? I ain't so scared of her."

"Then you are stupid." Swan couldn't believe the words that had just escaped her, but instead of being offended, the other just chuckled.

"It's been said. Lucky for me, she is busy at the moment. New Loka being idiots and stealing data on you from Steel Meridian didn't go over well either. She had a 'talk' with them. I think they will be quiet for a while. The ones who want to stay sane anyway." The other's humor faded. "Not far, darling. Not far. Hold on." Nothing hurt. Swan didn't hurt and... Wait! She wasn't hungry now. "Here. We are here, Swan. Swan, wake up."

Swan jerked fully awake as the hands lowered her a bit. A Grineer control console shone in front of her. It was live. She tried to reach for the console with the thing Gogre had given her, but her hand wouldn't move. Tears started, but the other had been watching.

"Here, darling." The other said gently. "Let me help." A hand took hers and guided it to the console. The hand was skeletal thin and the forearm had odd hoops on it.

"I have to do it!" Swan tried to protested, but it came out a croak. "It has to be me."

"It _is_ you, darling. I ain't here." Swan paused at that and the other chuckled without mirth. "I am carrying a pair of Kraken pistols instead of my usual load. Just like the one you are carrying. Lousy clones will be shocked shitless when they see _you_ killed that entire team all by _yourself_."

"But... I didn't..." Swan protested.

"Girl, it don't matter." The other guided her hand to the console. "Far as the Grineer are concerned, I ain't here. This was an internal matter. Peter led a group of clones and slaves to attack his old base. He planned well, that maniac did. Made a hell of a mess. Nightwatch ain't gonna forget _him_ any time soon."

"Everyone is dead." Swan was crying now even as her hand made contact with the console and something went 'beep'. She stared as the console flashed once, twice and then went red. An alarm started blaring. "I don't know if it worked."

"It worked, honey." The other reassured her. "Sic Semper Tyrannis. 'Thus always to tyrants'. Short version of 'Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis'. 'Thus always I bring death to tyrants' is a bit more of a mouthful." Swan's breath was coming in gasps and darkness was crowding her vision.

"Then it is done? We have our revenge?" Swan felt odd. Calm. Too calm.

"It will take time and there is no guarantee that the Grineer won't detect it..." The other broke off as a new voice sounded. Swan screamed as something jerked her. She couldn't see what was happening.

"Yes, there is." The voice was female and tense. "This was not planned for. Who is _she_?"

"Who are _you_?" The male voice snarled and the darkness that had been crowding Swan's vision was forced back by stronger darkness.

"I have no name." The other said quietly. "Shoot if you must. I am unarmed and unarmored. Kill me if you must, Tenno. The plan will continue."

"Wait..." Swan fought her way back up from wherever she was falling. " _What_ plan?"

"Peter's plan." The other sounded sad and fond in equal measure. "They are _still_ trying to kill him. They will succeed eventually. But the engineer was supposed to make it here. Not a human child."

"I am not human." Swan worked her jaw carefully to speak. "I am an experimental weapon." The other made a soft noise of dismay.

"They were ambushed." The male -a Tenno?- holding Swan said quietly. "The engineer held them long enough for her to get mostly clear. Let me see you." He paused and then chuckled. "Damn, that clone was sneaky as hell, wasn't he?" Swan did not understand.

"Yes, he was. I serve the vats." The other had a smile in her voice now. "I am less than nothing to the Grineer. Failed, impure. But they use me nonetheless and they do not restrict my movements between here and the vats. After all, where else can I go?"

"I don't understand." Swan gasped as pain flared. The one holding her sighed and she was suddenly lying on something cold and hard. She stared up at a Grineer who looked... She gasped again as she saw a female face that was half eaten away from the _bone_. The clone's face that was flesh was sad. She looked like Peter, well, _half_ of Peter.

"See Grineer perfection, child. We have ruined ourselves. No external enemy can destroy us as surely as we can." The ruined face held no horror for Swan after everything. She couldn't nod so she made an affirmative sound. A misshapen hand encased in some kind of odd not-quite-armor reached for her cheek and stroked it. "Poor dear, what did they _do_ to you?"

"Tyl Regor made me." Swan felt her strength fading, but she managed to get the words out. "Doctor Tengus wanted to program me. Peter and his crew saved me." Something touched her and she felt energized for a moment. Something told her it wouldn't last. "They offered me revenge."

"You have it, child." The female gathered Swan up and held her gently. "You did it. The queens will pay for everything they have done. If the Tenno do not destroy them, then the program that Peter and your friends concocted will eventually. 'Thus always to tyrants.'"

But Swan was beyond hearing.

* * *

She was crying as the girl's life fled from the horrible wounds in her back. She held the girl until the form went completely limp. Only then did she look up at the form from nightmare that stood nearby, watching.

"Kill me, Tenno." She laid the girl down and rose to her full height. Half of what a Grineer would manage with her back crooked as it was. "I was ordered to check the terminal. If she..."

"She was dead when you got here." The other said quietly, no trace of the terror and evil that he had projected earlier. "You will find nothing amiss in the terminal. She never got the chance to deploy her virus."

"But it wasn't a..." She paused, staring down at the girl, hand. At the device that lay in it. She smiled a little, the scar tissue around her mouth pulling as it always did. "They won't sully themselves mindscanning someone like me but they will check this alcove shortly."

"Report the intrusion, dispose of her body. I am gone." With that, the Tenno simply vanished.

The broken clone nodded slowly, bending down to check the still human girl. Then, caught up by an impulse she couldn't define, she kissed the still cheek. Then she keyed an alarm. Shouts sounded in the distance.

"What the-?" An angry voice sounded and she braced herself just in time. A rifle butt sent her sprawling. "You _ruined_ our hunt, you foul thing!" A kick sent slid her into the wall. Bone snapped, but that was nothing new.

"It was dead when I got here!" She said with a cry of pain. That would satisfy the clone for a time. "It did not access the systems! I checked."

" _We_ will check." The armored clone snapped. "Get out of here and take _that_ with you. That body will be your rations for the week." She did not protest, she gathered Swan's still form up and carried her from the alcove even as more boots sounded in the near distance.

"I don't eat humans." Her teeth bared in a grim smile, pointed.

 _Good_ Wait a second! Where had _**that**_ come from? _You deserve a name._ It sounded like Swan, but older. Sadder. _No one who cares for ours who have fallen should be unremembered. What name would you like?_

"I don't..." She paused and then smiled. "Call me Petra."

 _Very well, Petra. Ward her body. We will be in touch to find away to retrieve it. You may call me Nyx. You too will have your revenge._

 _I look forward to it._


	21. Chapter 21

**What? You didn't think I would end it like THAT did you?**

* * *

 **Epilogue**

She jerked awake, instantly aware of something very wrong. But a soft, soothing voice sounded nearby and she relaxed even as her brain screamed at her to run, to fight, to do _something_.

"It's okay, Elizabeth. You are okay." Something was wiping her forehead as she gasped for breath, still gripped by a horrible fear. "Bad dream honey. Just a bad dream. You are okay."

"I... Mom?" She opened her eyes and saw her mother's face nearby. The horrible scars might have put off anyone else, but to her, they were her safety. Her surety.

"Easy, Elizabeth." The woman she knew as 'Mom' sat down beside her, the golden gown she wore swishing as she reached out to take hold of the human girl's hands. "Just a nightmare. You are okay."

"I..." 'Elizabeth' shook her head, confused as the woman held her gently. This was her mom, but it wasn't. The room with its golden walls was hers, but it wasn't. She had never seen it before. Things were not as they were supposed to be. The scar faced woman was dead. She knew that. _She_ was dead. She had been shot. She remembered the pain, and then the lack of pain and finally a falling sensation. "This... isn't right."

"I know." The other said gently. "We both died." 'Elizabeth' stiffened and the other smiled fondly at her. "What do you remember?"

"I was...running?" Elizabeth said weakly. "I had to do something but I cannot remember what."

"That is for the best." A familiar voice sounded and Elizabeth went totally still as a golden form simply appeared in the middle of the room. The warframe nodded to them both before morphing into a more familiar form.

"Nyx?" Elizabeth asked, even more confused. The holographic Tenno smiled and nodded. "I... What happened?"

" _Nikis_ happened." Nyx said with a sour lilt to her words, but her smile was wide. "And I am _not_ going to forgive him any time soon. He came here and demanded help from a number of people. When he explained _why_ , they fell all over themselves to do this. It is not every day that we Tenno can do good things. We are destroyers by trade, not builders."

"But I _died!_ " Elizabeth was crying even as the woman she had known as Zei held her.

"Yes, you did." Nyx said softly. "You both accomplished your goals gained your revenge. Time alone will tell if the plan works or not, but it has a good chance."

"Then why am I _here_?" Elizabeth demanded. "I was ready! We _both_ were!" She held Zei tight and the former engineer murmured nonsense words trying to calm the girl.

"Because you are family." Nyx said quietly. Elizabeth froze and Nyx nodded. "That is both a good thing and a bad one. Bad in that anyone who can find you can try to use you against us. _Good_ in that we can legally protect you and anyone who tries to hurt you will answer to us. _All_ of us."

"And... Zei?" Elizabeth asked, worried for no reason she could recall.

"You bonded to her." Nyx smiled at the girl. "She bonded to you. She has been hurt enough. She was vetted and passed with flying colors. Neither of you will remember this. It is safer for both of you if no one like those New Loka idiots know who you are, but you have both earned a chance at peace."

"Will it hurt?" Elizabeth asked. Nyx shook her head with a smile. "But what will I do? I only know how to be a monster and a pirate."

"It is time we both learned how to be human, Elizabeth." Zei said quietly. "They wanted to wake us both, make sure there are no problems before we forget."

"Wait! Forget?" Elizabeth jerked away from Zei and the other let her go."Forget Peter? Sora? Gogre? Flash? Forget all of them?"

"You have to, Elizabeth." Nyx said sadly. "There is saying that predates the Orokin Empire. 'When one starts down the path of revenge, one should dig two graves. One for your target and one for yourself.' Revenge will kill you as surely as it will others. It did. You were made to be a monster, but that body is not the same. You are a human named Elizabeth. Not the being called Swan." Elizabeth put a hand to her mouth and nearly cried out when she felt flat teeth.

"But what will I _do?_ " Elizabeth begged.

"Be a good little girl and grow into a good woman if I am any judge of character at all." Nyx said with a smile as she stepped forward. "Zei has made her choice. What name did you choose?" She asked the older human.

"I was halfway tempted to call myself 'Elizabeth'." Zei said with a smile. "But then I was talking to some people and they told me stories about a very brave woman named 'Galina'." Nyx shook her head, that had been her name before assuming her warframe. Zei wasn't done. "Not without your permission."

"I would be honored." Nyx bowed her head. "Elizabeth?"

"Do I have to keep that name?" Elizabeth asked. Nyx shook her head. "I can choose?" Nyx nodded. "What will I remember?"

"Nothing." Nyx said softly. "You and Galina..." There was just a minuscule hesitation at that name. "...will need a lot of help to adjust. To relearn everything that you will need. But you will not be alone in this. I will be with you. I will remember who you are now and what you did even if you do not. Your actions will be honored among Tenno as long as we exist."

"I am scared." Elizabeth said weakly. Zei held out a hand to her as did Nyx. She took them both and the others eased her back to the bed.

"You do not need to be. Lie down beside her, Galina." Nyx said softly and the older human did as instructed. Elizabeth looked at Nyx and then slowly nodded, her thoughts clear as day to the psychic Tenno. Nyx smiled fondly as she laid her hands on their skulls and-

* * *

She woke up suddenly. She felt good. Her mom slept beside her and her friend stood over them, withdrawing her hands. She remembered her name but not much else.

"Nyx?" Irina asked, concerned. "You were talking to us. Telling us what had happened, that we were hurt. Did we nod off?"

"Only for a moment, Irina." Nyx reassured the girl. "No one blames you for that. You both need rest. Both of you have gone through a traumatic ordeal and will need time to recover. I cannot be here all the time, but Eliza and her people will help." She nodded to the door and it opened. A pair of golden gowned women stepped in. One was close to Irina's age, the other looked oddly ageless. "This is Jesse and Michelle. They will help you with your recovery and help reteach you the ins and outs of the family you just lost with your injuries. I have to go, but I will be back. I promise." She smiled at Irina and vanished.

"How do you feel, Irina?" The younger one, -Jesse- asked.

"Home." Irina said with a smile as her mother Galina stirred beside her. "I feel like I am home."

* * *

Nearby

"'Galina' will accept the repairs now." Nyx said quietly as they watched Michelle and Jesse take the newly inducted members of Avalon's society in hand. "I didn't even need to push her. She didn't like hurting the girl and seeing the scars hurt her."

"Good." The woman with the crown said with a smile. "Wouldn't end well."

"No, it wouldn't." Nyx agreed before turning to the other two in the room, her face turning stern. "Of _all_ the people I might have expected to team up for something like this. _You two_..." She shook her head. "This was crazy, even for _you_ , Lotus."

"It wasn't my idea." The guide of the Tenno had a serene expression on her visible face as always, but the hint of a smile was seen. "It was a good one, but not my idea."

Nyx favored the guide with an old fashioned look before rounding on the last person in the room. He ignored her, watching the screen where Michelle was teaching Irina how to eat with Galian observing.

"This is going to ruin your reputation, Nikis." Nyx said mildly. Nikis did not respond. "Come off it, you old curmudgeon. You did it. I know you did."

"Did what?" The Nekros asked. Butter might not have melted in his mouth. "I found their energy. I brought it here. End of story. Eliza's people did the hard part, making bodies from genetic samples from Steel Meridian was far harder."

"Revenge was their choice." Nyx sounded upset now and Nikis turned to look at her.

"Nyx, I have lived revenge. You know this." Nikis said softly. "Not that I am admitting anything and will deny it, with force if needed..." He warned. "But she was and is a good kid. And you _do_ know what the absolute _best_ revenge against Tyl Regor will be?" Nyx looked at the Nekros and then nodded slowly.

"The best revenge against someone like that is to ignore them and live well." Everyone in the room nodded. "So, who gets to tell _Tiana_ she has a new sister _and_ an aunt." All eyes turned to the Lotus who glared at Nikis.

"I will get you for this, you old fart."

"I tremble with anticipation." Nikis shrugged and left the room.

"Who told New Loka about Swan?" Eliza said into the silence that greeted the Nekros' departure. "Steel Meridian did not have the information, did they?"

"They had some." The Lotus said quietly. "Not enough to launch such a coordinated assault. Frankly, there is only one person who could have told them. The question is: _Why_ would _Janet_ have done that?"

"I am going to ask." Nyx said with a sigh as she vanished. She jerked as the universe all around her morphed into something very different. The room was huge and half filled with water. She stood on a virtual beach with a massive finned form sliding towards her. "Janet?"

 _The best revenge is to live well._ Janet's mental reply was soft. _And your kin deserved better._ The sincerity in the Oracle's tone was clear and Nyx felt her eyes burn as Janet slid her form close. _The Grineer will pay for what they did, but your kin have a chance at a normal life now. Or as normal as they can get on Avalon. All of this was going to happen anyway. Swan and Zei's pain was a small price to pay for a future free of it, all told. What say you?_

"What say I?" Nyx thought for a moment and then her face split in a huge grin.

"Drink up, me hearties! _Yo ho!_ "


End file.
